The Lucchese crime family was the target of a massive federal indictment back in may that included nineteen members and associates.
The Cosa Nostra families current hierarchy which consists of Street Boss Matthew Madonna, Underboss Steven Crea Sr., and Consigliere Joseph DiNapoli were among those charged. The members of the administration along with capos Dominic Truscello and John Castelucci and several alleged soldiers were charged with racketeering, murder, loan sharking, narcotics, and other offenses. Included in these charges is the 2013 mafia hit in the Bronx of former Purple Gang leader Michael Meldish. When these kinds of indictments against the mafia occur they are usually aided by the help of informants from inside of the crime families and it seems this one is no different. The Lucchese family is once again plagued by turncoats and according to reports many of them are relatives of wiseguys.
“Steven Crea and Matthew Madonna”
So far there are at least three relatives of Lucchese family mobsters that have been cooperating with the feds over the past few years. Robert Spinelli the brother of reputed Lucchese soldier Michael (Baldy Mike) Spinelli began cooperating with the feds back in 2012 supplying the feds with secretly recorded conversations all the way up until this year. It was also reported that mob associate Joseph Foti the brother of another Lucchese wiseguy had been wearing a wire and recording conversations between his mafia pals before and after the Meldish hit took place. The latest rat to emerge is the son of Lucchese soldier James Pasqua Jr. who turned on his father and the organized crime family after he was busted for smuggling drugs into prison last year according to a recent Ganglandnews report.
It seems that Pasqua’s son was a snitch for the feds from behind bars using his father’s name to get close to Londonio and record conversations while they were both doing time in the Metropolitan Correctional Center. As the evidence continues to mount and the number of turncoats increases against the Lucchese family members heading to trial it seems like they are facing an uphill battle. While the feds have had mixed results of late when it comes to cases against the New York mafia this one would certainly be a big one to add to the win column. With the Lucchese families current official boss Vittorio (Vic) Amuso also behind bars, this indictment if it leads to extended prison sentences for the rest of the administration would be a major blow to a crime family that just recently seemed to be stabilizing itself.
