Jim Kouri
Gambino crime family captain indicted for murder
By Jim Kouri
Gambino Family captain Dominick "Skinny Dom" Pizzonia was charged with racketeering conspiracy, including acts of murder, murder conspiracy, and loansharking.In two of the charged racketeering acts, Pizzonia and others are charged with the 1992 conspiracy to murder and murder of Rosemary and Thomas Uva.
According to the indictment, on the morning of December 24, 1992, the victims, who were husband and wife, were shot in the head and killed while inside their idling car in Queens, New York. Their bodies were discovered moments later when the car rolled through the intersection, collided with an oncoming vehicle, and came to rest against the front curb of nearby residence. The Uvas were referred to by members and associates of organized crime as "Bonnie and Clyde," for their suspected commission of gunpoint robberies of several social clubs operated and controlled by mafia families, including the Gambino family. The killings were the result of several "contracts" put out on the crime duo.
A third racketeering act charges Pizzonia and others with conspiring to use extortionate means to collect extensions of credit from "John Doe #1" between December 1999 and May 2000. In November 2001, Pizzonia pled guilty to this racketeering act in United States v. Pizzonia.
A fourth racketeering act charges Pizziano and others with loansharking involving "John Doe #2" between 2001 and June 2002. These acts are alleged to have occurred while Pizzonia was released on bail pending trial in the 2001 case, and during the period between his sentencing and the date of his surrender to begin serving his sentence in that case.
New York City Police Commissioner Ray Kelly stated, "The NYPD and its law enforcement partners have effectively crippled traditional organized crime. This indictment puts the few who remain on notice that their lawlessness will not be tolerated."
If convicted of racketeering conspiracy, Pizziano faces a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.
In another federal racketeering case in New York, Theodore Persico, JR. a/k/a "Teddy," a Colombo organized crime family soldier, pleaded guilty to racketeering, including acts of extortion. The guilty plea proceedings and elocution were held before United States District Judge Carol B. Amon at the US Courthouse in Brooklyn, New York. When sentenced by Judge Amon, Persico faces a maximum sentence of 20 years imprisonment.
© Jim Kouri
Gambino Family captain Dominick "Skinny Dom" Pizzonia was charged with racketeering conspiracy, including acts of murder, murder conspiracy, and loansharking.In two of the charged racketeering acts, Pizzonia and others are charged with the 1992 conspiracy to murder and murder of Rosemary and Thomas Uva.
According to the indictment, on the morning of December 24, 1992, the victims, who were husband and wife, were shot in the head and killed while inside their idling car in Queens, New York. Their bodies were discovered moments later when the car rolled through the intersection, collided with an oncoming vehicle, and came to rest against the front curb of nearby residence. The Uvas were referred to by members and associates of organized crime as "Bonnie and Clyde," for their suspected commission of gunpoint robberies of several social clubs operated and controlled by mafia families, including the Gambino family. The killings were the result of several "contracts" put out on the crime duo.
A third racketeering act charges Pizzonia and others with conspiring to use extortionate means to collect extensions of credit from "John Doe #1" between December 1999 and May 2000. In November 2001, Pizzonia pled guilty to this racketeering act in United States v. Pizzonia.
A fourth racketeering act charges Pizziano and others with loansharking involving "John Doe #2" between 2001 and June 2002. These acts are alleged to have occurred while Pizzonia was released on bail pending trial in the 2001 case, and during the period between his sentencing and the date of his surrender to begin serving his sentence in that case.
New York City Police Commissioner Ray Kelly stated, "The NYPD and its law enforcement partners have effectively crippled traditional organized crime. This indictment puts the few who remain on notice that their lawlessness will not be tolerated."
If convicted of racketeering conspiracy, Pizziano faces a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.
In another federal racketeering case in New York, Theodore Persico, JR. a/k/a "Teddy," a Colombo organized crime family soldier, pleaded guilty to racketeering, including acts of extortion. The guilty plea proceedings and elocution were held before United States District Judge Carol B. Amon at the US Courthouse in Brooklyn, New York. When sentenced by Judge Amon, Persico faces a maximum sentence of 20 years imprisonment.
© Jim Kouri
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