FBI indicts Colombo crime family members in extortion in World Trade Center demolition

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Examiner

FBI indicts Colombo crime family members in extortion in World Trade Center demolition
March 10, 3:46 AM

Eight men allegedly connected to the Colombo crime family in New York are under indictment for alleged extortion and kickback schemes at the World Trade Center.

The indictment unsealed in a Brooklyn court Tues. morning included charges against Theodore Persico, Jr., Michael Persico, Thomas Petrizzo, Edward Garofalo, Jr., James Bombino, Louis Romeo, Alicia Dimichelle, and Mike Lnu.

They are charged with racketeering conspiracy, wire fraud conspiracy, extortion, and embezzlement of union benefit funds.

The defendants, who were arrested early Tues., were arraigned before U.S. Magistrate Judge James M. Orenstein, at the U.S. Courthouse.



Read more: http://www.examiner.com/x-25653-FBI-Examiner~y2010m3d10-FBI-indicts-Colombo-crime-family-members-in-extortion-in-World-Trade-Center-demolition

[Hannah Bell]

1. Testa not so clean itself: (2004)

US investigating use of sham firms
By Raphael Lewis

Federal agents searched the offices of two Big Dig subcontractors Thursday as part of a nationwide probe into large construction firms setting up sham firms with women or minority executives, in order to obtain lucrative public works contracts, federal and industry officials said yesterday.

About two-dozen federal agents executed search warrants at two North Shore firms, PT Corp. and Testa Corp., the officials said.

From 2001 until last summer, PT Corp. of Lynnfield, a state-certified woman-owned business, had been in charge of dismantling the 1.5-mile elevated Central Artery. But the firm fell behind schedule and was replaced by Testa Corp., a major player in the demolition field.

PT Corp.'s chief executive is listed by the state as Pamela J. O'Brien. She is the sister of Steven Testa, who runs Testa Corp.

The prime contractor overseeing the subcontract is Modern Continental Construction Co. Inc. of Cambridge, one of the nation's largest construction firms and the company that has performed more Big Dig work than any other.

Like many federal construction projects, the Big Dig requires a certain percentage of contracts to go to minority- or women-owned firms, such as PT Corp.

It was not known, however, exactly what aspect of the contract are being examined by the federal investigators from the US Department of Transportation 's office of inspector general; the US Department of Labor's office of labor, racketeering, and fraud investigations; and the Internal Revenue Service.

[upi402]

2. real men of honor

:eyes:

[Wilms]

3. And here I thought they were blackmailing the BFEE.

:shrug:

[ET Awful]

4. Anyone who thought there could be a major construction job in New York City without

some kind of ummm. . . ."family" involvement was deceiving themselves.

[damyank913]

5. That's life in the "Big Apple"...

Cockroaches, rats and gangsters.

[robertpaulsen]

6. Guess I'll put this in my Deep Politics and the WTC Destruction file.

Hell, if The Octopus can profit off it, why can't the Mob?