Re: United States v. Benjamin Castellazzo
Criminal Docket No. 11-30 (S-1)(KAM)

Dear Judge Matsumoto:

The government respectfully submits this letter in
anticipation of sentencing in the above-captioned case, which is
scheduled for January 30, 2013. For the reasons set forth below,
the government respectfully asks the Court to impose a sentence
of imprisonment within the range prescribed by the United States
Sentencing Guidelines (“Guidelines”), which is 77 to 96 months,
and a fine within the advisory Guidelines range of $10,000 to
$100,000.

BACKGROUND

On January 12, 2011, a grand jury in the Eastern
District of New York returned an indictment (the “Indictment”)
charging the defendant and thirty-eight co-defendants with a
variety of crimes, including racketeering conspiracy, based on
their leadership of, membership in and association with the
Colombo organized crime family of La Cosa Nostra (the “Colombo
crime family” and “LCN,” respectively). (Docket Entry No. 1.)
The defendant was, during the relevant period, the underboss of
the Colombo crime family, as well as a captain, soldier and
associate in that crime family. (Id. ¶ 13; Superseding
Information (Docket Entry No. 533) ¶ 12; Presentence
Investigation Report (“PSR”) ¶ 11.)

On January 20, 2011, the indictment was unsealed and
the defendant was arrested. (Docket Entry Nos. 2, 37.) On
September 15, 2011, the defendant pled guilty to a superseding
information (the “Superseding Information”) charging him with
racketeering conspiracy, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1962(d),
including two racketeering acts, each based on a separate
extortion conspiracy. (Superseding Information (Docket Entry No.
533) ¶¶ 13-16.)

I. The Defendant’s Position

In the Spring of 2008, the defendant was elevated to
the position of underboss of the Colombo crime family. In his
capacity as the underboss, the defendant met frequently with
other members of the Colombo crime family administration, as well
as with captains of the crime family. The defendant also
participated in a months-long project to re-energize the Colombo
crime family by recruiting old members to become more active in
the affairs of the crime family and by injecting new blood into
the crime family, i.e., inducting new members. In particular, in
his capacity as underboss, the defendant helped to preside over
the February 1, 2009, ceremony in which co-defendants Anthony
Russo, Joseph Savarese, Emanuel Favuzza and John Maggio, along
with another individual, were inducted as members of the Colombo
crime family.

In addition, the defendant planned to preside over a
ceremony in December 2010 in which co-defendant Larry Sessa and
others were scheduled to be inducted into the Colombo crime
family. To prepare for the ceremony, the defendant directed
Anthony Russo to secure a firearm for use in the ceremony.


1
In addition, the defendant was charged in Count Seven
with the money laundering conspiracy alleged in RA 11, in Count
Fifteen with the money laundering conspiracy alleged in RA 19,
and in Count Forty-One with the extortion conspiracy alleged in
RA 34. He was also charged in Count Fifty-Nine with using,
carrying a possessing a firearm in relation to the racketeering
conspiracy charged in Count One, in violation of 18 U.S.C.
§ 924(c)(1)(A)(i) and (ii).


Following the defendant’s instructions, Anthony Russo obtained a
firearm from Sessa and delivered it to Favuzza’s residence, where
the ceremony was scheduled to take place. Ultimately, due in
part to perceived law enforcement scrutiny, the ceremony was
cancelled.

II. Criminal Activity

In his capacity as a member of the Colombo crime
family, the defendant directly oversaw, and profited from, a
litany of crimes, several of which are described below.
Significantly, in his capacity as the underboss, the defendant
also sanctioned and indirectly oversaw, and profited from,
several of the crimes of violence alleged in the Indictment. For
his participation in the racketeering conspiracy to which he pled
guilty, the defendant should be held accountable -- by the
imposition of a term of imprisonment within the Guidelines range
of 77 to 96 months -- for all of these crimes. Without a
hierarchy, of which the defendant, as the underboss, was a
critical member, structured criminal organizations such as the
Colombo crime family could not thrive or even survive. That is,
members and associates of the crime family could not commit the
bread and butter crimes of the mafia such as loansharking and
extortion –- crimes that depend upon the existence of a crime
family to succeed –- if not for leaders like the defendant.

A. Extortion and Money Laundering -
Roger Califano’s Gambling Business2

For several years prior to their arrest in 2011, the
defendant, together with co-defendants Joseph Carna (a captain
within the Colombo crime family), Anthony Russo (an acting
captain within the Colombo crime family), Nicky Rizzo (a soldier
in the Colombo crime family), Angelo Spata (an associate in the
Colombo crime family) and others, including former Colombo family
street boss Thomas Gioeli, conspired to launder the proceeds of a
lucrative illegal sports-betting business operated by co-
defendant and Colombo crime family associate Roger Califano and
others. Specifically, Califano made yearly tribute payments,
ranging between $5,000 and $10,000, at Christmas time to members
of the Colombo crime family in exchange for their “allowing” him
to operate his illegal gambling business without risk of
interference from other LCN families.


Between 2005 and 2008, Califano reported to Nicky
Rizzo, who in turn reported to Gioeli, then the Colombo family
street boss. Each Christmas between 2005 and 2007, Califano
provided a percentage of the proceeds of his sports-betting
business to Rizzo, who provided the money to Gioeli. In 2005 and
2006, Califano provided $5,000, but in 2007, after a particularly
profitable year, Califano provided $10,000. Following Gioeli’s
incarceration in June 2008, Califano continued to report to
Rizzo, but was subsequently transferred to Carna and the
defendant, who by then held the position of underboss. The
defendant demanded that Califano continue to pay an annual sum of
$10,000. Accordingly, at Christmas time in 2008, Califano
provided $10,000 to the defendant, $5,000 of which the defendant
gave to Spata, who provided it to members of the family of
Carmine Persico, the incarcerated official boss of the Colombo
crime family.

In July 2009, Califano was transferred to Anthony
Russo’s crew. Anthony Russo attempted to negotiate with Colombo
family member Theodore Persico, Jr., who is Carmine Persico’s
nephew, and Colombo family associate Michael Persico, who is
Carmine Persico’s son, to reduce the amount Califano had to pay
each Christmas from $10,000 to $5,000, but the Persicos refused
to reduce the amount. In addition, Spata told Anthony Russo that
Alphonse Persico, who is another son of Carmine Persico, and who
previously served as acting boss of the Colombo crime family,
confirmed to Spata that Califano owed $10,000, not $5,000.
However, Russo told the defendant that Califano was only going to
pay $5,000 and that the defendant should attempt to collect the
remaining $5,000 from Califano’s father, Ronald Califano, who
formerly was a partner in Califano’s gambling business. The
defendant told Russo that he had sent Colombo crime family
soldier Salvatore “Sally Boy” Castagno to try to collect the
money from Califano’s father.

At Christmas in 2010, the defendant and Spata
repeatedly reminded Anthony Russo to collect the $10,000 payment
from Califano. Anthony Russo, however, resisted collecting the
payment because he believed that FBI agents have recently served
a subpoena on Califano in regard to these payments.

B. Extortion and Money Laundering -
Johnny Azzarelli’s Illegal Gambling Business3

Between 2000 and the 2011, co-defendant John Azzarelli,
also known as “Johnny Cash,” operated a lucrative illegal
gambling business in which he and others placed joker-poker
machines in various Brooklyn establishments. The business earned
more than $2,000 in revenue in a single day.

Azzarelli made monthly payments to the Colombo crime
family in exchange for the crime family “allowing” him to place
and maintain joker-poker machines in these establishments without
risk of interference from other LCN families. These monthly
payments initially were $8,000 (representing four weekly payments
of $2,000), but were later increased to $10,000 when the Colombo
crime family learned that Azzarelli had expanded the business
into additional locations in Brooklyn. Between 2000 and 2003,
Azzarelli gave these monthly payments to then-Colombo crime
family consigliere Joel Cacace. Following the incarceration of
Cacace in 2003, Azzarelli gave the payments to Colombo crime
family captain Dino Calabro and Calabro’s close criminal
associates. In 2008, following Calabro’s incarceration,
Azzarelli began making the payments to the defendant. In July
2010, FBI agents surveilled Azzarelli making one of these
payments to the defendant at a social club in Brooklyn run by the
defendant.

C. Extortion Conspiracy - Gambino Crime Family4

On May 16, 2010, Colombo crime family associate Walter
Samperi was stabbed by an associate of the Gambino crime family.
Samperi initially went to Lutheran Medical Center, but was
discharged after two weeks in part because he did not have
insurance and could not pay his medical bills. To compensate,
members of the Colombo family initiated a “beef” with John
Gambino, a member of the Gambino crime family’s administration.

Initially, members and associates of the Colombo crime
family met with an acting captain in the Gambino crime family.
On June 4, 2010, Anthony Russo and the Gambino crime family
acting captain discussed the Samperi situation in the presence of
a cooperating witness (the “CW”). The Gambino crime family
acting captain explained that he agreed to first approach the
family of the individual who stabbed Samperi to determine how
much money they were willing to pay Samperi and to then meet with
John Gambino to see if he could obtain free rehabilitation for
Samperi at a clinic controlled by the Gambino crime family.

On June 29, 2010, co-defendants Fusco, Dennis Delucia
(a captain in the Colombo crime family) and Anthony Russo, and
another met with Gambino and the Gambino crime family acting
captain. Immediately after the meeting, the members of the
Colombo crime family’s administration -- co-defendant Andrew
Russo, the defendant and co-defendant Fusco -- and New York City-
based captains including co-defendants Carna, Delucia and Anthony
Russo met at a residence in Staten Island, where they discussed,
among other things, the dispute over Samperi. The meeting was
captured in a consensually-made recording. Andrew Russo, as the
street boss of the Colombo crime family, presided over the
meeting.

At the outset, Andrew Russo admonished Anthony Russo
and the others present that they should not attend a sit-down
with another LCN family without first alerting the Colombo family
administration. With respect to the stabbing of Samperi, Andrew
Russo observed that they should have first “g[o]t even” and then
initiated discussions with the Gambino family. The group
proposed that Samperi sue the city for failing to protect him, or
file for disability, but abandoned these ideas because Samperi
lacked legal status in the United States. Andrew Russo then
said, “I need help, what do you think.” At that point, all
agreed that Samperi would not be permitted to sue the individual
who stabbed him because he would be termed a “snitch” if he did.
During the conversation, one of the captains commented that
“they’re [a reference to the Gambino crime family] worried about
us [a reference to the Colombo family] retaliating.” The
administration and the captains then discussed a variety of ways
to obtain compensation for Samperi. They ultimately agreed that,
in exchange for their promise not to retaliate, the Colombo
family would require the Gambino family to make a one-time
payment of $150,000, $100,000 of which was to come from the
Gambino family’s “basket” from the “feast,” a reference to the
Figli di Santa Rosalia, an annual Italian feast held in late
August on 18th Avenue in Brooklyn.5


5
Consensual recordings made during the course of the
investigation demonstrate that the Colombo crime family has
controlled the Figli di Santa Rosalia for several years.

D. Extortionate Collection - John Doe #136

John Doe #13 operated an illegal sports-betting
business. As part of that business, a gambler placed a winning
bet with John Doe #13, and John Doe #13 refused to pay the
winnings to the gambler. The gambler approached the CW, who
instructed the gambler to ask John Doe #13 if he had a
“friend[,]” i.e., an inducted member of organized crime, and to
find out if any LCN members or associates backed John Doe #13’s
sports betting business.

The CW subsequently discussed the outstanding debt with
co-defendant and Colombo crime family soldier Joseph Savarese,
who told the CW to give Savarese’s phone number to the gambler to
give to John Doe #13. Ultimately, Savarese agreed to conduct a
“sitdown” with Gambino crime family soldier Ernie “Ernie Boy”
Abbamonte on July 7, 2010, at a Manhattan restaurant. On July 7,
2010, Savarese, the CW and the gambler met John Doe #13 and
Abbamonte, among others, at the Madison Restaurant. The group,
however, could not reach an agreement at this sitdown.

On July 22, 2010, Savarese called the CW and said, “I
was reaching out, a little pushy with the guy with [the situation
involving the gambler] . . . I told the other guy you were going
to get back to me the next day . . . I was pushing it so I called
him back.” Savarese explained, however, that he then “got a
message from the Claw [a reference to the defendant], [who] said
you have a situation with Ernie [Boy Abbamonte] [and] to put it
on hold ‘til I [the defendant] apeak to you [Savarese] tomorrow.”
When the CW asked whether the defendant would “take their side,”
Savarese responded, “Anthony [Russo] told him [the defendant]
what happened and he [the defendant] said, ‘Fuck that, youse guys
didn’t do anything wrong . . . He [the defendant] won’t take
their side, he likes the drama.”

The defendant ultimately met with Abbamonte and
arranged for John Doe #13 to pay a portion of the winnings to the
gambler. For his efforts, the defendant received a percentage.

6
In the Indictment, this extortion was alleged as RA 36
of Count One.

E. Extortion - Razzle Dazzle

In the summer of 2010, a Genovese crime family soldier
complained to Anthony Russo that Angelo Spata was preventing the
Genovese crime family soldier’s brother from placing “Razzle
Dazzle” games in New York City-area Italian feasts, including the
Figli di Santa Rosalia. Razzle Dazzle games are rigged games of
chance, which games contestants rarely win; the games are
therefore very lucrative.

To attempt to resolve the dispute, Anthony Russo, then
a Colombo crime family acting captain, arranged a meeting at the
Salty Dog on 3rd Avenue in Brooklyn. In attendance at the
meeting were the Genovese crime family soldier, Spata, Anthony
Russo and another. At the meeting, Spata told the Genovese crime
family soldier that he would not permit the Razzle Dazzle games
at the feasts because it would attract law enforcement scrutiny.
In response, the Genovese crime family soldier told Spata that he
knew that Spata operated a similar game at these feasts.

Anthony Russo next met with the defendant, in the
defendant’s capacity as the Colombo crime family’s underboss, to
try to resolve the situation. The defendant told Anthony Russo
that co-defendant Emanuele Favuzza was a partner of the Genovese
crime family soldier’s brother in the Razzle Dazzle venture and
received a portion of the proceeds generated by the game.
Anthony Russo then met Spata at a street fair on 84th Street and
4th Avenue, and then met the Genovese crime family soldier a
couple of blocks away. Thereafter, Anthony Russo, the defendant,
Spata and the Genovese crime family soldier met at a sushi
restaurant on 4th Avenue. The defendant arranged for the
Genovese crime family to place the Razzle Dazzle game in the
feasts, beginning with the 18th Avenue feast (i.e., Figli di
Santa Rosalia), in exchange for which Spata and the Genovese
crime family soldier would each get $7,500 of the proceeds.
Spata later told Anthony Russo that he was required to split his
portion of the proceeds with the defendant. The Genovese crime
family soldier then gave Anthony Russo $1,000 for his assistance.


F. Extortion – John Doe #17

In the early 1990s, Joseph Scopo, the brother of co-
defendant and Colombo crime family soldier Ralph Scopo, was the
underboss of the Colombo crime family. Joseph Scopo negotiated a
deal with the Gambino crime family providing that John Doe #1,
who owned a construction company, would make a lump-sum payment
and, thereafter, monthly payments to the Gambino and Colombo
crime families. The Gambino crime family received an initial
lump-sum payment of $75,000 and, thereafter, $5,000 monthly
payments, and the Colombo crime family also received $5,000
monthly payments. These payments continued until at least 2002.

By 2001, co-defendant Ralph Scopo, who at the time
reported to the defendant, then a captain in the Colombo crime
family, was “servicing” John Doe #1. As a result of the
defendant’s position as Scopo’s superior, the defendant received
a portion of the proceeds collected. Thereafter, Scopo started
to report to Dino Calabro, another Colombo crime family captain,
in place of the defendant. By that time, Scopo was collecting
$8,500 in proceeds on a monthly basis from John Doe #1, and
Calabro instructed another Colombo crime family solider to give
$1,000 of those proceeds to the defendant and the remainder to
“the Persicos.”

After the defendant was incarcerated in or around 2002,
Calabro started to collect the $1,000 that previously went to the
defendant for himself.8 However, because the defendant owed
approximately $9,000 to the Persicos, Calabro was directed to
repay that debt using the proceeds of the extortion of John Doe
#1. Calabro then paid off the defendant’s outstanding loan.


7
This extortion was alleged in the Superseding
Information as RA 1 of Count One (in which the victim is
identified as John Doe #1) and in the Indictment as RA 10 of
Count One (in which the victim is identified as John Doe #7). In
this letter, the victim is referred to as John Doe #1.
8
On February 27, 2002, the defendant was sentenced to a
three-year term of imprisonment and directed to report to his
designated facility on April 29, 2002. (United States v.
Castellazzo, 00 CR 840 (ILG) (E.D.N.Y.), Docket Entry No. 125.)

G. Extortionate collection - John Doe #39

John Doe #3 was an associate of the Genovese crime
family. In or around September 1998, he met with the defendant
regarding a gambling debt that John Doe #3’s cousin owed to the
defendant. John Doe #3 agreed to take over this debt, and
thereafter made payments as directed by the defendant.

H. Extortion - John Doe #210

Colombo crime family associate Francis Guerra’s wife’s
parents are part owners of L&B Spumoni Gardens (“L&B”), an
Italian restaurant in Brooklyn, New York. The children of John
Doe #2, a Bonanno family associate, worked at L&B. Subsequently,
John Doe #2 opened a pizzeria on Staten Island called “The
Square,” and Guerra came to believe that John Doe #2 had stolen a
sauce recipe from L&B.

In the summer of 2010, Guerra, Anthony Russo and a
Colombo family associate Frank “Frankie Notch” Iannaci went to
The Square and bought a pizza. When they saw John Doe #2 in
front of the pizzeria, Iannaci assaulted him and Guerra yelled,
“How could you disrespect my family?”

Bonanno crime family member Anthony Calabrese then
looked for Anthony Russo. Anthony Russo and Calabrese met at St.
Joseph's high school on Hylan Boulevard in Staten Island.
Anthony Russo told Calabrese that John Doe #2 would have to make
him and Guerra partners in The Square or close the place down.

The defendant learned about the assault of John Doe #2
from Ralph DiMatteo, a partner in The Square who was “on record”
with the defendant. The defendant met with Anthony Russo, and
approved Guerra’s and Anthony Russo’s efforts to obtain a portion
of the proceeds of The Square, provided that they give a portion
of any proceeds to the defendant.

A week later, Anthony Russo met with Calabrese and
others. They agreed that John Doe #2 would provide $3,000 to
$4,000 as a one-time payment. A few days later, Russo collected
the money from Calabrese. Anthony Russo and Guerra split the
money and gave $500 to the defendant, whom they had kept apprised
of the situation, because of DiMatteo's involvement in The
Square.


B. The Defendant’s History and Characteristics

The defendant’s history and characteristics show that
he is committed to a life of crime and that a sentence within the
Guidelines range is necessary and appropriate. 18 U.S.C.
§ 3553(a)(1).


As a preliminary matter, the defendant was a member of
the Colombo crime family administration, one of three men
responsible for administering the affairs of the criminal
enterprise. In his capacity as an administration member, the
defendant attended numerous meetings with other high-ranking
members of the Colombo family and presided over the induction of
new member. These facts are, in themselves, serious factors for
sentencing.

In addition, his history includes four prior
convictions. Most recently, in 2002, the defendant was sentenced
by Judge Glasser to a three-year term of imprisonment based on
his conviction for conspiring to collect extortionate extensions
of credit. (PSR ¶¶ 59-60.) That crime was committed while the
defendant was a captain in the Colombo crime family, and the
extorted money reflected payments for credit, gambling and other
criminal activity conducted at a social club owned and supervised
by the defendant. (Id. ¶ 60.)

Before that, in 1995, the defendant was sentenced to an
eight-month term of imprisonment following a conviction for
operating an illegal gambling business. (Id. ¶ 57.) That
conviction was based on the defendant’s participation in a
business that, under the auspices of LCN, held craps games,
conducted illegal numbers betting operations and accepted wagers
on sporting events. (Id. ¶ 58.) Before that, in 1976, the
defendant was sentenced to a four-year term of imprisonment
following a conviction for the unlawful use of a telephone in the
commission of a felony. (Id. ¶ 55.) That conviction was based
on the defendant’s role in a heroin importation and distribution
ring. (Id. ¶ 56.) And before that, in 1959, the defendant was
sentenced to a four-to-eight-year term of imprisonment following
his conviction for grand larceny. (Id. ¶ 53.) That conviction
was based on the defendant’s theft, with others, of a tractor-
trailer truck containing carpeting. (Id. ¶ 54.)

In addition, the defendant was arrested in 1958 for
vagrancy, in 1969 for reckless endangerment and attempted
possession of a dangerous weapon -- based on his alleged attempt
to strike a victim with a baseball bat -- and in 1992 for
promoting gambling. (Id. ¶¶ 64-69.) Furthermore, while serving
the term of imprisonment imposed in 1976, the defendant received
a misconduct report for being in an unauthorized area and being
intoxicated in prison. (Id. ¶ 56.) And, after serving the term
of imprisonment imposed in 2002, the defendant was found to have
violated the terms of his supervised release by making unapproved
stops before returning from a doctor’s appointment and by
associating with a co-defendant, and as a result was sentenced to
a thirty-day period of home confinement. (Id. ¶ 60.)