North Jersey Crew busted in real life...
Anthony Skorochod
members of the North Jersey mob. The person who turned himself in to the
FBI is the "acting" Capo of the North Jersey crew, who we would relate to as
Tony Soprano.
Here is the direct link to the story:
http://www.pennlive.com/news/expresstimes/index.ssf?/news/expresstimes/front
/mob_guye.html
Here is a cut and paste:
(note: the recycling chief they are referring to was featured in my local
paper several weeks ago. He is the real-life recycling chief or Raritan
Township, NJ. GiGi Gestone and his boys beat this guy up on his doorstep in
episode 1, season 3.)
Area man is charged with mob murder
04/02/01
By STACEY GAUTIER
The Express-Times
When a television crime family extended its grip into southern Hunterdon
County the other week, it was fiction, a surprise even to the recycling
chief portrayed on "The Sopranos."
But after a Lebanon man surrendered to authorities late last week, the mob's
alleged existence among the rolling farm fields of this bucolic county is
more reality than fantasy, one prosecutor said.
It is a quiet presence, however, as borough and county officials said Sunday
they never heard of the man before he turned himself in.
Vincent "Beeps" Centorino, 60, allegedly played a role in the 1996 murder of
Joseph Sodano, a Bruno crime family "capo" or captain. He's charged with
murder and conspiracy to commit murder, among other things.
Centorino on Friday was arraigned in federal court in Newark and released to
24-hour house arrest on a $500,000 bond secured by his residence, which his
lawyer, John P. McDonald, said is in Centorino's wife's name. Centorino
could face the death penalty if convicted, prosecutors said.
Hunterdon County Prosecutor Stephen Rubin, Lebanon Mayor J. Knox Felter Jr.
and Lebanon Council President Albert L. Bross III said they didn't know who
Centorino was. One of their wives even questioned if the man was actually
from the northern Hunterdon borough or from the nearby township of the same
name.
Warren County Prosecutor John Laky said he had no personal knowledge of
Centorino, but that he wasn't surprised when he heard the news.
"People allegedly involved in this are living among us," Laky said. "There's
not much people can do."
According to the indictment, the 1996 murder was ordered to maintain power
and control of the criminal activities of the Philadelphia La Cosa Nostra
family, which has also been known as the Bruno crime family, according to
the indictment.
The 18-count Racketeering Involvement and Corrupt Organizations indictment
describes racketeering activity from at least as early as fall 1994 through
March 2000 that included the Sodano murder, extortion, loan sharking,
gambling and drug distribution.
Centorino was acting captain of the North Jersey Crew, according to the
indictment. At the time of his murder on Dec. 7, 1996, Sodano was a made
member or soldier of the North Jersey Crew, according to the indictment.
The indictment was unsealed Tuesday, but Centorino didn't surrender to the
FBI until Thursday.
According to the indictment, in addition to Centorino, eight others were
also charged: Joseph Servidio, 50, of Nutley, N.J.; Daniel D'Ambrosia, 37,
of Philadelphia; Raymond "Frenchie" Lepore, 63, of Brick Township, N.J.;
Eugene "Little Gene" Wilson, 62, of Union, N.J.; Dominick "Tommy" DiNorscio,
33, of Nutley; Anthony Proto, 65, of Bloomfield, N.J.; Thomas DeMichael, 59,
of Belleville, N.J.; and Wayne Cross, 52, of Clifton, N.J.
Six of the others were arrested Tuesday and D'Ambrosia surrendered Wednesday
after returning from Florida.
D'Ambrosia and the others have been freed on bails of $150,000 to $250,000,
although some are confined to their homes.
The arrests came eight months after the Bruno's former northern New Jersey
capo, Peter "The Crumb" Caprio, pleaded guilty in federal court and agreed
to enter the witness-protection program.
In his plea, Caprio admitted roles in the 1994 shooting death of crew
associate William Gantz and the 1996 slaying of Sodano.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Laura Kaplan declined to say if cooperation from
confessed Bruno boss Ralph Natale or Caprio led to the indictment.
Natale turned government witness after being arrested on drug charges in
1999, becoming what is believed to be the highest-ranking mobster to
cooperate with prosecutors.
Natale began testifying Friday in Philadelphia in the racketeering and
murder trial against Joseph "Skinny Joey" Merlino, his accused successor as
boss.
u The Associated Press contributed to this report.