Federal Criminal Defense Blog : Georgia Federal Criminal Defense Lawyer & Attorney : Gillen Withers & Lake Law Firm : White Collar Crime, RICO, Trial : Atlanta, Savannah, GA

Angelo Salvatore Ruggiero is an alleged second-generation member of the Gambino crime organization and a longtime friend of head John Angelo "Junior" Gotti, III. According to Jerry Capeci at The Huffington Post, Ruggiero was serving eight years in a Georgia federal prison for murder, conspiracy and extortion relating to a plan to murder a baker who was suspected of having an affair with the wife of Junior Gotti's uncle, Vincent Gotti.

Although incarcerated in the Deep South, however, Ruggiero apparently did not cease his racketeering activities. Last month, Ruggiero was charged with alleged witness tampering relating to a murder and  racketeering prosecution of Junior Gotti last year. The prosecution concerned the murder of a drug dealer in 1996 allegedly by Junior Gotti associates David D'Arpino and John A. Burke. Ruggiero allegedly conspired with D'Arpino to prevent a witness for the prosecution from testifying while Ruggiero and D'Arpino were being held in custody in Brooklyn. The defendant who Ruggiero and D'Arpino were attempting to assist, James Cadicamo, ended up pleading guilty to racketeering conspiracy charges and was sentenced to 105 months imprisonment in October.

Ruggiero decided to cooperate with the government after Daniel White, a former cellmate of Cadicamo serving time for bank fraud, told authorities about efforts by Cadicamo and others to intimidate witnesses. A Federal Judge threatened White with a severe sentence after discovering that he had continued his illegal activities while incarcerated.

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Two years ago, Deputy Sheriff David Swanson and Sheriff's Captain Raul DeLeon of the Stanislaus County Sheriff's Department in California were indicted in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California for making alleged false statements to federal investigators regarding leaks during a federal investigation of Road Dog Cycle in Denair, California. The owners of Road Dog Cycle, Robert and Brent Holloway, were also indicted for heading a racketeering enterprise, which involved members of the East Bay Dragons outlaw motorcycle club of California; the Merced, California, chapter of the Hell's Angels; and the Red Devils outlaw motorcycle club of Sweden. The defendants were charged with acts of trafficking in stolen motor vehicle parts, robbery, making extortionate extensions of credit and collecting extensions of credit by extortionate means.

Swanson was charged with allegedly leaking confidential law enforcement information to an associate of Robert Holloway who informed Holloway of search warrants which were to be executed at Road Dog Cycle. DeLeon was similarly charged with allegedly concealing his relationship with Robert Holloway and having contact with Holloway during the execution of a State search warrant at the residence of one of Holloway's employees in order to enable the employee to conceal evidence. Swanson and DeLeon faced a maximum of 15 years imprisonment.

Well, as reported by the Modesto Bee, the prosecution of Swanson and DeLeon turned out to be a case of prosecutorial overreaching when a jury acquitted Swanson and DeLeon on all charges earlier this month. Following the verdict, one juror told reporters that Swanson and DeLeon had been "railroaded." The problems in the government's case caused it at one point to offer Swanson the chance to plead to one felony count with no jail time and not even any probation. Even courthouse employees told the defense that they did not believe that he could have conspired to impede the federal investigation into the Holloways' activities.

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As reported in the National Law Journal, a federal jury in Massachusetts last week returned a $47 million verdict against pharmaceutical giant Pfizer for allegedly promoting Neurontin, an epilepsy drug manufactured by Pfizer, for off-label uses in alleged violation of the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act. Since the RICO statute provides for treble (triple) damages, the amount of the verdict is actually $141 million.

The plaintiffs, Kaiser Foundation Hospitals and Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, alleged that Pfizer allegedly deceived the organizations into believing that Neurotin could be used to effectively treat conditions such as migraines and bipolar disorder. Neurontin has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration since 1993 to treat epilepsy.

Pfizer officials have issued a statement stating that the company will appeal the verdict. Pfizer officials allege that Kaiser misled the jury during trial and that it continues to recommend Neurontin to its patients for the off-label uses. Officials claimed that Neurontin is safe and effective.

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Anthony Borgese played mob tough guys in films such as Good Fellas and on television shows such as The Sopranos. However, Borgese may have played a tough guy in real life as well, as reported by John Marzulli in the New York Daily News. The 70 year-old actor was arrested by FBI agents at LaGuardia airport in New York on Thursday and pled not guilty on Friday to charges of extortion against an unidentified victim in Monticello, in upstate New York. Borgese is alleged to have engaged in the extortion with an alleged “soldier” of the Gambino crime family, Joseph “Joey Boy” Orlando and alleged mob boss associate Giovanni Monteleone.

Borgese was born in East New York and used the stage name Tony Darrow. His most well-known role was as Sonny Bunz, the owner of the bar the Bamboo Lounge in the movie Good Fellas, who gets into a fight with Tommy DeVito, played by actor Joe Pesci, who breaks a bottle over his head. Borgese had worked at the real Bamboo Lounge in Canarsie, Brooklyn, which was frequented by Luchese crime family figures including Henry Hill, the main character in Good Fellas.

Borgese also appeared in 14 episodes of The Sopranos as Larry Boy Barese. He has also appeared in several films by director Woody Allen, and has had a nightclub act in Las Vegas.

Borgese was released on a $750,000 bond secured by his home in upstate New York and $50,000 cash. Monteleone was also released on bail. Orlando is currently serving a 33-month sentence for another extortion conviction.

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