Russetto Crime Family

The Russetto crime family is a criminal organization active in upstate New York and parts of New York City.
The Russetto crime family is led by Martin Rosa.
== History ==
The Russetto crime family was founded in the early 1950s by Mario Russetto in Albany, who at the time was notorious for his many gambling rackets. While the Italian-American criminal element he "founded" had existed for years prior, he was the first to unify it as a leader. He did this by taxing local illegal rackets, and destroying/coercing those who refused the tax.
Over the 1960s, the Russettos made many connections with criminal businessmen across upstate New York, with the centers of their activity in Buffalo and Toronto. They had some influence in New York City, but this was through crews who were commonly mistaken as being part of other criminal organizations.
Mario led the family until 1974, when he was killed in a gangland-style murder in Brooklyn, New York. The perpetrator of his murder is unknown, but some believe it to be Newark hitman Frank Rosenburg. The family was thereafter led by Anthony Russetto.
The Russetto family expanded into the drug trade in the early 1980s, but it was met with heavy rivalry from other organizations like the Torelli crime family and the Ferrone crime family in places like North Jersey and New York City. Instead, the Russettos decided to sell in parts of upstate New York and Toronto, and this eventually led to the imprisonment of Anthony Russetto in 1987. He died in prison in 2011.
Martin Rosa became the new boss in 1989, and the family has remained mostly quiet - even through the RICO crusades - ever since.
James DeFranco, a notorious member of the Russetto family and cousin of Torelli member Vincent-Dante Ragusa, was involved in Andrew Cuomo's downfall.
Category:Primary Universe
Category:Criminal Organizations
Category:Organized Crime