Whether Goldmen had mob ties isn't important, prosecutors argued in court filings to Snyder. They said the Goldmen criminal enterprise was worthy of attack under the New York Organized Crime Control Act, a powerful racketeering statute. In her ruling Friday, Snyder agreed. Snyder said grand jury evidence indicated that the type of fraudulent conduct by members of the Goldmen criminal enterprise is precisely the kind of organized criminal activity the statute was created to address. Snyder ruled that prosecutors had met all of the thresholds under the law to bring the racketeering charges.
Brokers refuse to let customers sell shares, restricting supply to pump stocks up.
Once the price is driven high enough, insiders sell shares at huge profits. The stocks tank, wiping out ordinary investors. Marchiano fled New York law enforcement in 1996 and opened a boiler room in Naples, prosecutors say. Prosecutors say brokers illegally hyped stock in Millennium Sports Management Inc., and peppered their pitches with lies when touting the company's partnership with Rasmussen on his second attempt to launch the failed Stadium Naples golf arena. And, there was ample evidence in grand jury hearings that defendants intended to cheat New York customers, Snyder ruled.