Joseph Cammarano Jr. the alleged acting boss of the Bonanno crime family and consigliere John Zancocchio are now on trial in Manhattan Federal Court for various charges including racketeering conspiracy.
According to the feds Cammarano took over as acting boss of the NY Mafia family back in 2015. Assistant U.S. Attorney Gina Castellano said prosecutors will prove that Cammarano and Zancocchio led “a sophisticated crime organization that took whatever they wanted from whoever they wanted.” Prosecutors have owners and employees from various companies that the mobsters had allegedly shaken down along with a pair of mafia rats lined up to testify. Cammarano’s lawyer Jennifer Louis-Jeune said, “Just because accused Bonanno crime boss Joseph Cammarano Jr. looks like he stepped out of central casting for a mob movie doesn’t mean he’s actually in the mafia” according to the NY Daily News report.
She went on to say that once upon a time in a land far away there was a mafia but not now. She urged jurors not to believe what she called fanciful tales being told by prosecutors about the mafia. But the people who were being shaken down and extorted will certainly have a different story to tell when they are on the stand. So will mob turncoats Peter Lovaglio and Steven Sabella although they may not prove to be the most reliable witnesses of all time. The defense has attempted unsuccessfully to have to case dismissed due to what they considered to be inappropriate interactions with the snitches.
Lovaglio’s nickname is “Petey BS” because of how frequently he stretches the truth and has a lengthy criminal record. The defense teams claimed that the prosecutors improperly shared information with Lovaglio and allowed Sabella to post menacing messages on the Facebook page of a Zancocchio family member. When talking about an altercation between Zancocchio and Sabella the defense lawyer said “I understand some of you may say he shouldn’t have slapped the guy around a few times. But that’s not a crime in aid of racketeering!” He said the defendant didn’t do it on behalf of the Bonanno family but on behalf of his own family.
The now 59-year-old Cammarano also known as “Joe C” and the 61-year-old Zancocchio also known as “Porky” could be in for an extended stay behind bars if convicted. It would be another blow to an already beleaguered New York Mafia family!
