 |
 |
March
3, 2006 |
U.S. Department
of Justice |
RACKETEERING INDICTMENT UNSEALED
A thirteen-count federal grand jury indictment was unsealed today, charging fifteen individuals with various crimes, including conspiracy to commit racketeering, conducting an illegal gambling business involved in sports bookmaking, money laundering, and collection of credit by extortionate means, United States Attorney Stephen J. Murphy announced. The Detroit grand jury returned the indictment on March 1, 2006. The names of the defendants and their charges are listed on the attached chart.
Murphy was joined in the announcement by Daniel D. Roberts, FBI Special Agent in Charge.
The indictment alleges that between January 1998 and the date of the indictment, two related criminal enterprises operated in the Eastern District of Michigan, the purposes of which included the management of a large-scale, ongoing sportsbookmaking operation, and the collection of unlawful debts associated with that operation. In connection with these activities, it is alleged that the defendants committed multiple crimes, including conspiring to conduct an illegal gambling business, laundering money in order to promote the unlawful activity and conceal the ownership of illegal proceeds, interstate travel in aid of racketeering, and unlawful collection of gambling debts through the use of express and implicit threats of violence.
Fourteen of the charged defendants listed on the indictment were arrested in the Metropolitan Detroit area and arraigned in federal court today. The fifteenth individual, from Glen Ellyn, Illinois was arrested and will appear in Federal District Court in Illinois.
“These charges stem from a long-term and continuing investigation of organized crime in Metropolitan Detroit, including the court-ordered wiretapping of several telephones associated with the criminal enterprises alleged in the indictment. They reflect our continuing commitment to investigating and dismantling organized crime operations within our jurisdiction,” U.S. Attorney Murphy said. “In addition, through this indictment, as well as through civil means, we will aggressively seek the forfeiture of all proceeds of defendants’ illegal conduct.”
Daniel D.
Roberts, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI),
Detroit, Michigan, stated “Organized crime has been
and remains a top priority of the FBI and the activities of any continuing
criminal enterprise will be rigorously pursued. These arrests today reflect
many years of hard work and dedication by the agents who worked on this case
as this investigation continues.”
An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. A defendant is
entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government's burden to prove
guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
The case was investigated by special agents of the FBI, with valuable assistance from the Michigan State Police and the Fraser Police Department.
Organized Crime Indictment Unsealed Defendants and Charges |
||
|---|---|---|
DEFENDANT |
CHARGES |
INDICTMENT COUNT(S) |
| Defendant 1: PETER DOMINIC TOCCO, age 55, of Troy, Michigan | 18 U.S.C. § 1962 (c) (Rico [Racketeering] Conspiracy) | 1 and 2 |
| 18 U.S.C. § 371 (Conspiracy to Conduct an Illegal Gambling Business, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §1955) | 3 | |
| 18 U.S.C. §§ 1956(a)(1)(A)(i) and B(i) and 2 (Money Laundering, Aiding And Abetting) | 4, 5 and 6 | |
| 18 U.S.C. §§ 1956(a)(1)(A)(i) and (B)(ii) and 2 (Money Laundering, Aiding And Abetting) | 7 | |
| 18 U.S.C. § 894 (Collection of Extension of Credit By Extortionate Means) | 8 and 9 | |
| 18 U.S.C. §§ 1952 and 2 (Interstate Travel In Aid Of Racketeering) | 10 and 11 | |
| 18 U.S.C. §1963(a)(3) (Forfeiture) | 12 | |
| 18 U.S.C. §§ 1963(m) and 21 U.S.C. § 853(p) (Forfeiture) | 13 | |
| Defendant 2: PETER JOSEPH MESSINA, age 50, of Roseville, Michigan | 18 U.S.C. § 1962 (c) (Rico [Racketeering] Conspiracy | 1 and 2 |
| 18 U.S.C. § 371 (Conspiracy to Conduct an Illegal Gambling Business, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §1955) | 3 | |
| 18 U.S.C. §§ 1956(a)(1)(A)(i) and B(i) and 2 (Money Laundering, Aiding And Abetting) | 4, 5 and 6 | |
| 18 U.S.C. §§ 1956(a)(1)(A)(i) and (B)(ii) and 2 (Money Laundering, Aiding And Abetting) | 7 | |
| 18 U.S.C. § 894 (Collection of Extension of Credit By Extortionate Means) | 8 | |
| 18 U.S.C. § 1963(a)(3) (Forfeiture) | 12 | |
| 18 U.S.C. §§ 1963(m) and 21 U.S.C. § 853 (p) (Forfeiture) | 13 | |
| Defendant 3: DAVID JOHN ACETO, age 48, of Roseville, Michigan | 18 U.S.C. § 1962 (c) (Rico [Racketeering] Conspiracy | 1 and 2 |
| 18 U.S.C. § 371 (Conspiracy to Conduct an Illegal Gambling Business, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §1955) | 3 | |
| 18 U.S.C. §§ 1956(a)(1)(A)(i) and B(i) and 2 (Money Laundering, Aiding And Abetting) | 4 and 5 | |
| 18 U.S.C. §§ 1956(a)(1)(A)(i) and (B)(ii) and 2 (Money Laundering, Aiding And Abetting) | 7 | |
| 18 U.S.C § 894 (Collection of Extension of Credit By Extortionate Means) | 9 | |
| 18 U.S.C. § 1963(a)(3) (Forfeiture) | 12 | |
| 18 U.S.C. §§ 1963(m) and 21 U.S.C. § 853 (p) (Forfeiture) | 13 | |
| Defendant 4: THOMAS JAMES MACKEY, age 49, of Clinton Township, Michigan | 18 U.S.C. § 1962 © (Rico [Racketeering] Conspiracy | 1 and 2 |
| 18 U.S.C. § 371 (Conspiracy to Conduct an Illegal Gambling Business, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §1955) | 3 | |
| 18 U.S.C. § 894 (Collection of Extension of Credit By Extortionate Means) | 8 | |
| 18 U.S.C. § 1963(a)(3) (Forfeiture) | 12 | |
| 18 U.S.C. §§ 1963(m) and 21 U.S.C. § 853 (p) (Forfeiture) | 13 | |
| Defendant 5: WAYNE JOSEPH KASSAB, age 49, of Sterling Heights, Michigan | 18 U.S.C. § 1962 © (Rico [Racketeering] Conspiracy | 1 |
| 18 U.S.C. § 371 (Conspiracy to Conduct an Illegal Gambling Business, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §1955) | 3 | |
| 18 U.S.C. § 894 (Collection of Extension of Credit By Extortionate Means) | 8 | |
| 18 U.S.C. § 1963(a)(3) (Forfeiture) | 12 | |
| 18 U.S.C. §§ 1963(m) and 21 U.S.C. § 853 (p) (Forfeiture) | 13 | |
| Defendant 6: JOHN WILLIAM MANETTAS, age 51, of Harrison Township, Michigan | 18 U.S.C. § 1962 © (Rico [Racketeering] Conspiracy | 1 |
| 18 U.S.C. § 371 (Conspiracy to Conduct an Illegal Gambling Business, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §1955) | 3 | |
| 18 U.S.C. § 1963(a)(3) (Forfeiture) | 12 | |
| 18 U.S.C. §§ 1963(m) and 21 U.S.C. § 853 (p) (Forfeiture) | 13 | |
| Defendant 7: DOMINIC CORRADO, age 35, of Glen Ellyn, Illinois | 18 U.S.C. § 1962 © (Rico [Racketeering] Conspiracy | 2 |
| 18 U.S.C. § 371 (Conspiracy to Conduct an Illegal Gambling Business, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §1955) | 3 | |
| 18 U.S.C. §§ 1952 and 2 (Interstate Travel In Aid of Racketeering) | 10 and 11 | |
| Defendant 8: JACK V. GIACALONE, age 55, of West Bloomfield, Michigan | 18 U.S.C. § 1962 © (Rico [Racketeering]) Conspiracy | 2 |
| 18 U.S.C. § 894 (Collection of Credit by Extortionate Means) | 9 | |
| Defendant 9: RONALD S. YOUROFSKY, age 64, of Warren, Michigan | 18 U.S.C. § 371 (Conspiracy to Conduct an Illegal Gambling Business, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §1955) | 3 |
| Defendant 10: ALAN H. RUSSELL, age 54, of Sterling Heights, Michigan | 18 U.S.C. § 371 (Conspiracy to Conduct an Illegal Gambling Business, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §1955) | 3 |
| 18 U.S.C. §§ 1956(a)(1)(A)(i) and (B)(ii) and 2 (Money Laundering, Aiding And Abetting) | 7 | |
| Defendant 11: VINCENZO BRONZINO, age 40, of Macomb, Michigan | 18 U.S.C. §§ 1956(a)(1)(A)(i) and (B)(ii) and 2 (Money Laundering, Aiding And Abetting) | 7 |
| Defendant 12: JOSEPH MESSINA, age 48, of Macomb, Michigan | 18 U.S.C. § 371 (Conspiracy to Conduct an Illegal Gambling Business, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §1955) | 3 |
| Defendant 13: VIRGINIA NAVA, age 36, of Roseville, Michigan (sister of Defendant 12, Joseph Messina) | 18 U.S.C. § 371 (Conspiracy to Conduct an Illegal Gambling Business, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §1955) | 3 |
| Defendant 14: WILLIAM JOHN MANETTAS, age 27, of St. Clair Shores, Michigan | 18 U.S.C. § 371 (Conspiracy to Conduct an Illegal Gambling Business, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §1955) | 3 |
| Defendant 15: PETER TOCCO (Son of Defendant 1, Peter Dominic Tocco), age 27, of Macomb, Michigan | 18 U.S.C. § 371 (Conspiracy to Conduct an Illegal Gambling Business, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §1955) | 3 |