After only five hours of deliberating a federal jury in New York, NY has convicted reputed onetime Genovese acting boss Arthur Nigro and Greek brothers Freddy and Ty Geas on racketeering charges involving, among other things, the 2003 slaying of New England capo Adolfo Bruno as reported by Stephanie Barry for The Republican.
The defendants also were convicted for extorting nightlife operators in Springfield, MA and Hartfort, CT including "$12,000 monthly shake-downs of Springfield strip club owner James Santaniello and strong-arms of vending machine business owners Carlo and Gennaro Sarno, restaurateur Michael Cimmino and two Connecticut nightclub owners, Michael and Anthony Grant." The Genovese family always has loved the nightlife, and the Nigro trial illustrates that taxing the evening fun remains a bread-and-butter racket. The Genovese players must have a field day in Manhattan with all of its bars, clubs, restaurants and diners.
The government's case rested largely on the testimony of flipped gangsters including Genovese capos Anthony "Bingy" Arillotta and Felix Tranghese, and the speed by which the jury reached its verdict suggests the boys were effective witnesses on the stand.
Now that Arillotta and Tranghese have been successfully tested in court maybe the government will use additional information provided by the pair as the basis for future indictments against others. Who's next?
