New York Paralegal Blog

Following a three-day trial, a federal jury in Brooklyn today returned a verdict convicting Genovese Organized Crime Family associate Frank DiMattina, also known as “Frankie D” and “Frankie Ariana,” of Hobbs Act extortion and a related firearms charge.

WASHINGTON—An ongoing Internet fraud scheme conducted by several networks of organized cyber criminals in Romania and the United States has been disrupted as a result of a series of law enforcement actions coordinated since 2010 between Romanian and U.S. law enforcement, including numerous arrests and searches that took place yesterday in Romania.

PREET BHARARA, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that ARTHUR NIGRO, former acting boss of the Genovese organized crime family of La Cosa Nostra; and FOTIOS GEAS and TY GEAS, associates of the Genovese organized crime family, were convicted today after a three-week jury trial of various crimes, including multiple murders, attempted murder, murder conspiracies, racketeering, racketeering conspiracy, extortion, and loansharking. All three defendants were convicted for their participation in the November 2003 murder of Adolfo Bruno in Springfield, Massachusetts. FOTIOS GEAS and TY GEAS also were convicted of the November 2003 murder of Gary Westerman in Agawam, Massachusetts. Manhattan U.S. Attorney PREET BHARARA said: “The jury’s swift verdict in this case takes some very dangerous men off the streets—men who clearly did not think twice about killing anyone who got in their way. Today’s verdict makes it clear that those who so flagrantly and rep...

Multi-Agency Group in Phoenix Responsible for 93 Arrests and $150 Million in Seizures PHOENIX – Deputy Attorney General David W. Ogden, along with U.S. Attorney Dennis K. Burke, Acting Director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms Kenneth Melson, Drug Enforcement Administration Deputy Chief of Operations Dave Gaddis, and other federal and local officials today officially unveiled the new Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) Strike Force site in Phoenix. The Phoenix Strike Force is housed in the offices of the DEA Phoenix Division. The OCDETF Strike Force functions as a cohesive unit by bringing together representatives of the partner agencies to more effectively focus on specific investigative targets. Federal, state, and local agencies represented include the DEA; ATF; the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI); the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS); the Criminal Division of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS); U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE); the ...

ALBANY, N.Y. (December 2, 2008) – Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo today announced the convictions of former Schenectady Police Chief Gregory Kaczmarek and his wife for taking part in a highly organized narcotics distribution organization that operated in the Capital District and was supplied from Long Island. Gregory Kaczmarek, 56, and his wife Lisa Kaczmarek, 48, both of Roma Street in Schenectady, pleaded guilty today before Schenectady County Court Judge Karen Drago. The Kaczmareks were indicted in September for their participation in a cocaine and marijuana drug distribution ring run by Kerry “Slim” Kirkem, 40, of VanVranken Ave. in Schenectady and Guideboard Road in Waterford. More...