Opinion ID: 546225
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: the shakedown operation

Text: 23 In early 1982, Scarfo approved a scheme to extort money from drug dealers and bookmakers. Tr. 10/12/88 at 36-37, 47-48. Ciancaglini told DelGiorno that he and Pat Spirito, with Scarfo's permission, had formed a crew, made up of Charles Iannece, Nicholas Caramandi, and Ralph Staino, to extort or shake down bookmakers, and suggested that DelGiorno form a similar crew. Tr. 10/12/88 at 47-48. Ciancaglini was in charge of the crew and Spirito, a made member, was responsible for directly supervising its activities. The crew received half of the proceeds from the shakedowns, and the remainder was equally divided among Scarfo, Ciancaglini, Salvatore Merlino, Philip Leonetti, Lawrence Merlino and Frank Monte. Id. at 49. After Frank Monte was killed in 1982, Salvatore Testa received his share of the shakedown proceeds, until he too was killed on September 14, 1984. Id. at 66. Victims of the shakedowns were told that they would be killed if they failed to pay the street tax. Id. at 37. 24 Eventually, additional crews were formed and the co-conspirators extended their shakedown operations to include drug dealers. Although bookmakers paid regular sums every week, receipts from drug dealers, called extras, were more sporadic, because [d]rug dealers don't work every week. Id. at 70-71. In an average month, the shakedown proceeds ranged from $24,000 to $40,000. It is not clear from the record whether this sum included the extras from drug dealers. Id. at 71-72, 77. 25 The co-conspirators were careful not to shake down individuals associated with LCN. To that end, Scarfo, Leonetti, Salvatore Merlino, and DelGiorno provided the crews with names of individuals to target. 13 From the beginning of the scheme until about February, 1986, Caramandi delivered a weekly tally sheet recording the shakedown collections and the leadership's fifty percent share to various designated co-conspirators to give to Scarfo. Tr. 10/12/88 at 69-70; 10/21/88 at 21-26; 10/28/88 at 13-15. Thereafter, the tally sheets were delivered by assorted co-conspirators, including DelGiorno, Iannarella, Scafidi, and Joseph Grande, to either Scarfo or Leonetti. Tr. 10/12/88 at 69-70. In general, the shakedown operation appears to have been a highly structured and profitable endeavor. As the district court observed, Literally hundreds of shakedown victims paid a street tax that provided a steady and lucrative stream of revenue for the mob. United States v. Scarfo, 711 F.Supp. at 1339.