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Indictments charge racketeering

By Kevin Graham and Jennifer Orsi, Times staff writers
In print: Wednesday, August 6, 2008

Club Mirage on Hillsborough Avenue in Tampa is one of the businesses the indicted men invested in.
	[REBECCA CATALANELLO | Times]

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Federal authorities unsealed two indictments in Tampa on Tuesday charging six men, including John A. Gotti, with racketeering and other crimes they said stemmed from the Gambino crime family's attempt to get a foothold in Tampa. The Gotti indictment

Gotti, 44, right, of Oyster Bay, N.Y., son of the late Gambino boss John J. Gotti, was charged with conspiracy to violate the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) statute. Among the allegations are the murder of three New York men: George Grosso in 1988, Louis DiBono in 1990 and Bruce John Gotterup in 1991. The second indictment

Four New York men, along with James V. Cadicamo, 33, right, of Tampa, were charged with RICO conspiracy for a variety of alleged crimes. Cadicamo was accused of conspiring to kill or beat a former mafia associate who was to testify in a mob trial in Tampa in 2006. Three of the New York defendants — John A. Burke, 47; David D'Arpino, 33; and Guy T. Peden, 47 — are accused of murder and drug trafficking. A fourth, Michael D. Finnerty, 43, is charged with conspiracy. How the Gambino family works

Indictments unsealed Tuesday offer a glimpse into the structure of the Gambino crime family and its alleged activities in Tampa.

Underneath the family boss and his top assistants were "captains" or "capos" who headed groups of individuals called "crews." The captains supervised the criminal activities of their crews and trusted associates. The captains got a share of the money earned by the crew's criminal activities.

The U.S. Attorney's Office and federal indictment say that John Alite, now awaiting trial in Tampa on charges filed in 2004, was a Gambino associate who acted as leader of a Tampa crew that included five of the men in the latest indictment. Officials said the men committed numerous crimes and invested some of the proceeds from them in businesses that included window and glass companies, valet parking services and bars such as Club Mirage on Hillsborough Avenue. How the RICO statute works:

Racketeering may involve several kinds of illegal activities typically connected to organized crime. People charged with racketeering conspiracy are usually accused of participating in an organized criminal enterprise that may include such crimes as murder, kidnapping, gambling, arson, robbery, bribery or extortion, though they don't have to be charged with those actual crimes in order to be legally involved in the racketeering enterprise.

Kevin Graham and Jennifer Orsi, Times Staff Writers