Gambino Crime Family Captain Sentenced in Manhattan Federal Court to 121 Months in Prison for Racketeering, Drug Trafficking, and Multiple Acts of Violence

Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced today that Alphonse Trucchio—one of the youngest mobsters to be made a captain in mafia history—was sentenced in Manhattan federal court to 121 months in prison for his crimes as a member of the Gambino Organized crime family of La Cosa Nostra (the “Gambino crime family”). Trucchio previously pled guilty on February 17, 2012, to racketeering, narcotics trafficking, assault, illegal gambling, loansharking, obstruction of justice, and extortion in connection with two indictments before U.S. District Judge Richard M. Berman, who also imposed today’s sentence. Of the 22 defendants who were arrested in connection with U.S. v. Joseph Corozzo, et al., as part of a nationwide organized crime takedown on January 20, 2011, Trucchio was the 20th to be convicted. He was also charged in U.S. v. Alphonse Trucchio, et al. with 19 other individuals on November 30, 2011, for participating in a scheme to recruit illegal immigrants to work in adult entertainment clubs controlled by the Gambino Organized crime family.

Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said, “Alphonse Trucchio rose to a leadership position in the Gambino crime family at a young age, and his future may have seemed bright—but now the life he chose has led, as it has for so many others in the mafia, to living behind bars. Today’s sentence should remind anyone who aspires to follow in his footsteps that they should think again, because we will do everything within our power to catch you and prosecute you to the full extent of the law.

According to the Indictment, other court filings, and statements made at court proceedings:

Alphonse Trucchio became a “made” member of the Gambino crime family in the early 2000s, when he was in his 20s. After Trucchio’s father, Gambino crime family Captain Ronald Trucchio, was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment in 2005, Trucchio, who was 30 years old at the time, was promoted to the rank of captain. He was the youngest of the Gambino crime family’s captains, and one of the youngest captains in the history of La Cosa Nostra. In that capacity, Trucchio was responsible for supervising crews of street level members, also known as “soldiers,” and associates. From 2005 until his arrest in 2011, he assembled and led the Gambino Family’s largest, youngest, and most active crew. At least 14 other defendants who have been convicted in this case were either soldiers or associates in Trucchio’s crew.

Trucchio routinely participated in the illegal affairs of the Gambino crime family. Although the mafia traditionally purports to prohibit drug trafficking, Trucchio nonetheless presided over a large drug importation and trafficking ring, primarily located in Queens, New York. Trucchio and others distributed cocaine, marijuana, ecstasy, and Vicodin pills, generating millions of dollars in illegal proceeds for the Gambino family. He also participated in the systematic extortion of multiple strip clubs in Queens and ordered numerous violent assaults. Trucchio and others further engaged in loansharking—making and collecting on extortionate extensions of credit, sometimes making threats and committing assaults in order to collect payment—and illegal gambling. In his plea agreement, Trucchio also conceded that he had obstructed justice by destroying evidence.

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In addition to the prison term, Judge Berman sentenced Trucchio, 35, of Howard Beach, New York, to five years of supervised release, $100,000 in forfeiture, and ordered him to pay a $500 special assessment fee.

Ten other defendants have been sentenced in connection with U.S. v. Joseph Corozzo, et al.: Gambino family captain Louis Mastrangelo; Gambino family soldiers Michael Roccaforte, Anthony Moscatiello, and Vincenzo Frogiero; and Gambino family associates Todd LaBarca, Christopher Colon, Frank Bellantoni, Michael Kuhtenia, Frank Roccaforte, and Michael Russo. Nine others have pled guilty and have sentences pending: Gambino family consigliere Joseph Corozzo and fambino family associates John Brancaccio, Salvatore Tortorici, Christopher Reynolds, Keith Croce, Sean Dunn, Salvatore Accardi, Robert Napolitano, and Anthino Russo. Charges are pending against the remaining two defendants—Gambino family ruling panel member Bartolomeo Vernace and Gambino family associate Robert Bucholz. Two other defendants who were charged with Trucchio in U.S. v. Alphonse Trucchio, et al. have pled guilty. The charges and allegations are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

Five defendants who were associates of the Gambino crime family and charged as part of the January 2011 takedown in a separate indictment, U.S. v. John Cipolla, et al., have also pled guilty; four have been sentenced.

Mr. Bharara praised the work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, and the U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service.

The case is being handled by the Office’s Organized Crime Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Elie Honig, Daniel Chung, and Natalie Lamarque are in charge of the prosecution.