Bonanno Crime Family Captain From Roslyn Heights Arrested: USAO

Two Long Island residents are among four members of the Bonanno and Gambino crime families who face narcotics trafficking, loansharking and firearms charges, according to indictments unsealed in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York on Thursday.

Officials say acting captain of the Bonanno crime family Damiano Zummo, 44, of Roslyn Heights, and Bonanno crime family associate Salvatore Russo, 45, of Bellmore, were arrested on Wednesday.

Zummo and Russo are accused of participating in cocaine trafficking. According to officials, the men sold over a kilogram of cocaine inside a Manhattan gelato store on Sept. 14. Zummo is also charged with laundering over $250,000 in cash by providing business checks issued to a fake consulting company that purported to bill the company for consulting services, officials say. Zummo allegedly took a fee of approximately 10 percent for each money laundering transaction.

“Criminal enterprises, both national and international, contribute to the breakdown of a lawful society,” FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge William F. Sweeney said in a press release. “And yet, the allure of this gangland culture is often embraced and glamorized in movies and on television, where the threats posed to our economic and national security are seldom displayed.”

Along with Zummo and Russo, Gambino crime family member Paul Semplice, 54, of Brooklyn, and Bonanno and Gambino crime family associate Paul Ragusa, 46, of Brooklyn, were also arrested on Wednesday.

Semplice is accused of conducting a loansharking scheme in which he and others extended extortionate loans with interest rates of up to 54 percent per year. The scheme generated thousands of dollars per week for Semplice and others, officials say. Ragusa is accused of possessing nine firearms, including three automatic assault rifles and one silencer, and transporting the firearms in exchange for $2,000 in cash.

The investigation, which lasted more than two years, revealed criminal activity that spanned from the United States to Canada, officials say. In 2015, officials say they were able to secretly record a Bonanno crime family induction ceremony in Canada after one of the defendants sponsored a confidential informant to become a member.

“The recording of a secret induction ceremony is an extraordinary achievement for law enforcement and deals a significant blow to La Cosa Nostra,” Acting United States Attorney Bridget M. Rohde said.

In a coordinated operation, Canadian law enforcement authorities also arrested nine alleged organized crime members and associates in Canada on Thursday, including members of the Todaro organized crime family, who are charged with narcotics trafficking and other crimes.

“Dismantling and disrupting major international and national organized criminal enterprises is a longstanding area of FBI expertise, which is significantly enhanced through collaboration with our law enforcement partners and our Canadian partners,” Sweeney said. “While we have more work to do, this operation is a giant step in the right direction.”

All four men are scheduled to be arraigned before United States Magistrate Judge Cheryl L. Pollak at the federal courthouse in Brooklyn on Thursday afternoon.

Zummo and Russo each face a minimum sentence of 10 years in prison and a maximum sentence of life imprisonment. Semplice faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison on each of three loansharking charges and Ragusa faces a minimum sentence of 15 years in prison and a maximum sentence of life imprisonment under the Armed Career Criminal Act.

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