Francesco Palmeri from the Gambino crime family is now being extradited to Italy to face multiple charges including extortion.
Palmeri was one of eight people arrested last year in New York and Italy for trying to extort more than $1 million dollars from a business owner in Southern Italy. According to court records, the Gambino family sent the mobster to Italy in July 2013 with “a message from America…the businessman is going to understand”. He was accompanied by members associated with the New York Mafia and mob families in Italy.
“Francesco Palmeri“
Palmeri was born in Sicily but became a U.S. Citizen last year and is believed to be a high ranking member of the Gambino family. Known as “Ciccio l’americano” or the chubby American some reports have ranked him as the Gambino family underboss along with consigliere although his official part and rank within the family is unconfirmed. His arrest was a follow up to operation “New Bridge” which investigators claim showed existing links between the American Mafia and the mafia families it Italy.
