DB, anyone in garbage in the tri-state area who might have or had a, let's say, 'reputation', are just left overs who've got their hands tied. If they were 'involved' at some point in the past, they can't do anything about it. They can't claim property rights to stops outside their own circle anymore. Even within whatever is left of their decimated circle they don't want trouble. It's an open market out there for anyone to take. All you have going on today is hard working people trying to make a dollar & pay the bills. You've got the good ones and the bad ones, as with any blue collar businesses. People strong-arm competition every day in all kinds of businesses. Mostly in politics, as we've seen right here in NJ lately. Don't even get me started on that guys shady relatives.

The only people treating these guys the way they used to get treated are rats and undercover LE trying to rekindle old habits so the feds or police can advance their careers. It's disgraceful what they do and the criminals they capture and rely on to get headlines and create problems where no problems would have occurred had it not been for them creating them.

Occasionally, a wannabe will make a bad name for everyone. There are wannabees in every business, though, not just garbage. The fact is, it requires unity for that mentality to take hold. There's no unity, especially not in garbage. Without that very important unity and mutual respect, there can never exist a mob. Except when it's arrest and headlines time. Then they say the mob is back! Yeah, they're back alright.... Just now they're called District Attorney, Mayor, Governor or Chief rather than soldier, capos or consigliere.

In the legal arena of the Southern District of NY, the following decisions of Judge Castel are nothing short of amazing. Judge Castel, a notoriously rough jurist... Rules in favor of defense up and down the line. Looks like the FBI and prosecutors hung their hats a little too high on such a lowlife, scumbag, pedophile like this Charlie Hughes.

Taken from Gangland

By Jerry Capeci

Garbage Gangsters Get Super Sweet Plea Deals; Keeps Sex Pervert Witness Off The Stand

A week after federal prosecutors disclosed that their key witness in the huge mob waste hauling case had preyed on 15-year-old girls, they gave super sweet plea bargains to the last two holdout defendants. The plea deals will keep many sordid details about the FBI's undercover operative — and how he was handled — under wraps.

The gangsters got offers they couldn't refuse: low-end guidelines of 15 months for one, a year for the other. The deals were cut last week, right after a Manhattan federal judge indicated he would give the defense some leeway in questioning witness Charles Hughes about his 2008 arrest for soliciting sex from a girl he believed to be 15-years-old.

The guilty pleas close out the first of three trials that were scheduled in the 29-defendant case alleging mob control over the private sanitation industry in five counties in New York and New Jersey. So far, 19 defendants from three crime families, including geezer gangster Carmine "Papa Smurf" Franco, a Genovese associate, have copped plea deals.

The final pre-trial conference in which Judge P. Kevin Castel said he'd allow at least some of the underage sex allegations to surface if the witness took the stand resulted in a fast, Macy's bargain-basement-style sale of guilty pleas: Prosecutors suddenly reduced prison-term plea deals offered two Gambino family defendants by two-thirds.

The original plea offer of 37-to-46 months for wiseguy Anthony Bazzini, had already been reduced to 30-to-37 months by the last pre-trial session. After Castel left the bench, prosecutors chopped it to 12-to-18 months. The numbers for associate Scott Fappiano, who has more convictions of his rap sheet, began at 41-to-51 months. They ended up at 15-to-21 months, according to court records in the case. Bazzini, 54, and Fappiano, 52, are slated to be sentenced in May.

Castel never made a definitive ruling on exactly how much leeway he would give the defense, but he clearly rejected the contention of lead prosecutor Brian Blais that any cross-examination of Hughes about lies he told the "15-year-old," and other lies he told a court-appointed shrink were "out of bounds."

After grilling Bazzini's lawyer Raymond Perini about the questions he would ask Hughes and his reasons, Castel said he would "think about it" before pointedly cutting off discussion. "If the government has anything further they want to say on the subject, they can write me a letter, and I will take a look at it," said Castel.

Prosecutors said little in court about their key witness. But the limited colloquy on the subject between Perini and Judge Castel indicated serious flaws in his character and credibility, the kind of thing that many jurors might view as worse than the bid-rigging and illegal payoffs he was alleging against the defendants.

Castel, who is not viewed as a pro-defense jurist, began questioning Perini by asking the attorney if he wanted to "go through the transcript" of a taped conversation Hughes had with the "girl" and ask whether he lied when he said he was "tall, dark and handsome."

"I didn't say that Judge," Perini replied quickly, before beginning his detailed explanation of what he believed he had a right to ask the witness.

"There is another lie he tells," said Perini, referring to an early August of 2008 conversation, three weeks before the witness was arrested in front of a Westchester motel with a supply of condoms and a motel key and charged with soliciting sex from a 15 year old girl. That day, said Perini, Hughes, who had not shown for an earlier rendezvous, told the "girl" he was now ready for action.

"He comes up with this story that my wife caught me with condoms and she wouldn't let me come, but now I'm living in a motel room, and now I really want to get together with you again," said Perini. "Lie. Pure lie. I want to explore his lying to a supposed 15 year old to have sex with her. That's what I'd like to do."

Asked what the lie was, the lawyer said the excuse he gave the girl was a lie. "Just two weeks ago," Hughes admitted telling the feds that was a lie, said Perini.

Numerous times during their back and forth, Perini stressed that he would focus on the lies Hughes told the "15-year-old girl" as a way of undermining his believability to jurors who would have to decide whether to credit his allegations against Bazzini.

"That's a lie that goes to his credibility in this relationship with the 15 year old," the lawyer said. "And I think it's something the jury should know about him, because if he is willing to lie about that, what would he do when he is looking at ten to life?" said Perini, referring to the minimum prison time Hughes would have faced for soliciting sex from a minor — if he hadn't gotten a cooperation deal from the feds.

At no point during the proceeding, did Blais, or co-prosecutors Natalie Lamarque or Patrick Egan, contradict anything that Perini told the judge about their witness.

Castel withheld a final ruling on what alleged lies to a court appointed psychiatrist that Perini could cross-examine Hughes about, but he made several positive defense findings.

The judge ruled that a taped talk in which Bazzini mentioned that he saw former Gambino boss Peter Gotti in prison, and information that Hughes was severely beaten during the undercover probe were both prejudicial and could not be used at the trial.

Not addressed during the session, or in the government's court papers, were several assertions of bad judgment or possible wrongdoing by the prosecutors and FBI agents that Perini and co-counsel Lee Ginsberg noted in their court papers — points they would most likely have raised at the trial.

Among other things, prosecutors allowed Hughes's release on bail to cooperate before he pleaded guilty to the sex charges. They also relaxed "highly restrictive bail conditions meant to protect children from pedophiles like the cooperating witness … at the behest of the FBI" which then gave Hughes "a salaried sort of position" for the next five years, wrote Perini.

Spokespersons for the U.S. Attorney's office and the FBI declined to discuss the case

NJ priest begs judge to go easy on ‘Papa Smurf’ Franco
May 5, 2014 | 8:09pm


A New Jersey priest wants a Manhattan federal judge to go easy on mobbed-up garbage-carter Carmine “Papa Smurf” Franco.
With the reputed Genovese wiseguy facing more than two years of prison when he’s sentenced May 15 as ringleader of a multi-family organized crime effort to control New York and North Jersey’s waste-hauling industry, Judge Kevin Castel received a letter from the Rev. Peter Sticco, claiming Franco’s been a regular Mother Teresa since his arrest.

The priest says Our Lady of Grace Church in Fairview and its adjacent 400-student grammar school don’t have paid maintenance staff and that Franco, 78, of nearby Ramsey, made him an offer he couldn’t refuse: becoming “a full-time volunteer” who’d do everything from handling church and school security to ensuring the restrooms and altar are spotless.

Sticco also noted that the wiseguy was instrumental in decorating the church last Christmas and helped deliver 300 turkeys and trimmings to the poor at Thanksgiving — and he assured that Franco would continue to do such altruistic work for the church if he stayed out of the pen.
He said that an 80-year-old retired businessman had previously volunteered daily at Our Lady of Grace but had to stop because of poor health — leaving the church in a bind.

“He is greatly missed and we have not been able to find someone like him since,” the priest said. “Carmine is that type of person” who is “eager to work, knowledgeable, and always has a smile on his face.”
Among two dozen other letters Castel received in support of Franco is one from former New Jersey state Sen. Henry McNamara.
The longtime Bergen County pol and power broker said a non-prison sentence of community service is warranted due to Franco’s advanced age and laundry list of health problems, which includes being a cancer survivor who recently had his prostrate surgically removed. He also noted that Franco is the “primary caregiver” for his ill wife, Mary.

“Based upon my personal knowledge of Carmine and his family over the past thirty years, I have had no reason or occasion to experience any untrustworthy side of the individual,” said McNamara, 79, who served as a senator from 1985 to 2008.

He said they first met when McNamara was sales manager for a local Ford dealership and Franco and his “business manager came to purchase a vehicle.”
McNamara also confided that he used to turn to Franco for help while serving in Trenton as chairman of the Senate Environmental Committee. The pol said he used Franco as a “resource” to “assist” in fact-finding before drafting legislation that saved “significant taxpayer dollars” in connection with the solid waste industry.
Franco’s lawyers have also asked, in a separate 37-page filing, that he get a non-prison sentence of probation or community service, citing many ailments that allegedly would make it difficult for him to get proper medical treatment in prison.

Franco faces 27 to 33 months behind bars under his plea deal with the feds, which includes forfeiting $2.5 million to the government. He pleaded guilty last November to charges of racketeering, mail and wire fraud, and interstate transportation of stolen cargo.

He admitted being a key player between 2009 and 2012 in a scheme in which rival Mafia families banded together to circumvent official efforts to clean up the trash business — and used strong-arm tactics to shake down the owners of legitimate companies and secretly assume ownership of their operations.
Franco, who had been barred from the trash business in New Jersey because of past criminal convictions, admitted running his piece of the operation out of Rockland County, NY.

this guy papa smuf pulling out all the stops from going to jail. hes gonna get 1yrs house arrest. I no experts are gonna say this guys not made but im guessing he is. the bosses would induct him just so he doesn't get bullied in jail or for his service to the family for the last 100yrs. westside makes guy who arnt killers, they made that guy hotdogs cause he was president of the school bus union. there was that guy Napoli who was like the biggest numbers guy in nyc in the 70tys and fat tony inducted him rite before he went to jail so he had that prestige. smurfs nephew is made he just got a sweet deal. I amazed that they could steal 200k dollars of cardboard or someshit in 1 weekend, you think he goes strait to the boss with his cash. but chin screw up cause he let the windows guy get close to him

Carmine Franco and Angelo Ponte were never made for a reason. The Westside does not make garbage guys who need to keep up appearances in the legitimate world. We're literally talking about hundreds of millions of dollars. They're not going to risk that to play gangster and burn a Saint like some of the other nit-witted crews.

I'm no expert. But I'm right about this. And check your pm, pmac .

Speaking of garbage, any thoughts on who was behind that illegal dumping in Roberto Clemente Park on Long Island?

That was really fucked up. It's going to cost a fortune to clean that mess up. Like the Town of Islip doesn't have enough problems .

Pmac, in 4 months, the cw in the Smurf case was led by the feds to another crew in Staten Island. There, he and 3 others drove around flatbeds picking up bales of cardboard from behind major department stores. 5 trucks a night, 20 tons per truck. 2 truckloads a night with cardboard at 150 per ton back then.
That's 6 grand a truck x's 5 = 30k per night. And that's how you glom 200k a week of stolen cardboard.
The scheme lasted for 4 months and the feds gave the bust of the lead defendant, a one Vincenzo Grasso and two others, Neil Devito & John Nichols, to the BIC as a 'thank you'. Two lower level defendants of that case were rolled into the Smurf case. They really put the lone cw to work for 4 years. All so he could get out from under pedophilia related charges.

As far as Smurf being given leniency, Castel is one tough cookie. He doesn't give a rats ass about an old man dying in jail. It's going to be very interesting to see what happens on 5/15.
Pizza is right, no garbage guys ever got made, it was hard enough trying to obtain licensure just being associated with those guys, nevermind having been in the club.

That's going to be one big lawsuit there, Ivy. They already fired the Parks Commissioner over this. Everyone knows who was doing the dumping, but like you questioned, who were the people behind it all? The ones making the big money. That site was supposed to be construction of new soccer fields using dirt fill trucked in from elsewhere. It appears, someone found a secluded section of the park and decided to go and open up their own personal little landfill operation. Somebody's in deep shit.

garbageman knows hes garbage im gonna stop recycleing keep all my shit in the backyard, wait for a pay day.

Genovese soldier sentenced to four months in prison

A reputed mobster who whined about getting “whacked” – by falling concrete – to avoid jail time was sentenced Wednesday to four months behind bars for being part of a mob effort to control New York and North Jersey’s garbage-carting industry.
Robert Franco, 51, of White Plains, tried to get out of jail time by recently claiming in legal papers that he still suffers terrible pain from a 2003 car accident and from getting whacked in the head four years ago by a chunk of falling concrete.
But the feds said the reputed Genovese soldier and nephew of ringleader Carmine “Papa Smurf” Franco is not a very wise guy – and didn’t deserve a break.

They said he was stealing recyclable cardboard trash for the mob when the concrete fell from elevated tracks in The Bronx and struck him. They know, because the blockhead was unknowingly under FBI surveillance.
Franco afterward the sentencing declined comment, but his lawyer, Richard Ma, claimed in court that “the [previous] mention of injuries was not for leniency in sentencing.”

Franco claimed in court filings last month that he can’t cut it in prison because he “walks with a limp” from the car accident and “still experiences migraine headaches” from the falling-concrete accident, which left him with a “concussion” and required “18 stitches” to his head.

http://nypost.com/2014/04/30/whiny-mobster-sentenced-to-prison-despite-injury-claim/

What a dumbass .

I just saw this one,pb soldier? Doubt that one. Numbnuts is more like it. He got 4 months.

Yeah soldier. Not the smartest apple in the Westside's bushel though l

Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced today that DOMINICK PIETRANICO and JOSEPH SARCINELLA were sentenced in Manhattan federal court in connection with their roles in a scheme to exert control over the commercial waste-hauling industry in the greater New York City metropolitan area and in parts of New Jersey. Each defendant previously pled guilty to one count of loansharking in connection with the scheme. PIETRANICO and SARCINELLA were each sentenced today to five months in prison by U.S. District Judge P. Kevin Castel.

According to the Indictment, other documents filed in Manhattan federal court, and statements made at various proceedings in this case, including today’s sentencing:

PIETRANICO and SARCINELLA were participants in a scheme, along with other members and associates of three different Organized Crime Families of La Cosa Nostra (“LCN”) – the Genovese, Gambino, and Lucchese Crime Families – to control various waste disposal businesses in the New York City metropolitan area and multiple counties in New Jersey. Members of the scheme engaged in various crimes including extortion, loansharking, mail and wire fraud, and stolen property offenses.

PIETRANICO and SARCINELLA, who are made members of the Genovese Crime Family, provided protection and “backing” to a cooperating Government witness who operated a waste disposal company, and made an extortionate loan at a rate of interest exceeding 100% annually.

In addition to the prison terms, PIETRANICO, 83, of Mahopac, New York, and SARCINELLA, 79, of Scarsdale, New York, were each also sentenced to one year of supervised release. Additionally, PIETRANICO was ordered to forfeit $9,340 and pay a $2,000 fine, and SARCINELLA was ordered to forfeit $10,540 and pay a $5,000 fine.

PIETRANICO and SARCINELLA were charged as part of a large investigation led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), and the Westchester County Police Department. To date, 32 defendants have been charged with participating in the scheme to exert control over the commercial waste-hauling industry. Twenty-one of these defendants have been convicted for their roles in this scheme.

Mr. Bharara praised the investigative work of the FBI and the Westchester County Police Department.

The prosecution of this case is being handled by the Office’s Violent and Organized Crime Unit. Assistant United States Attorneys Brian R. Blais and Patrick Egan are in charge of the prosecution. Assistant United States Attorney Micah Smith of the Office’s Money Laundering and Asset Forfeiture Unit is responsible for the forfeiture aspects of the case.

http://www.lawfuel.com/crime-families

^^^^
That's a lot of hullabaloo for a shylock loan gone bad.

these west side guys do not retire

never heard of either, made? what crew?

I think they were out of the Lodi Crew?

"PIETRANICO and SARCINELLA were each sentenced today to five months in prison by U.S. District Judge P. Kevin Castel."

5 months? I would've thought with 'Don't Worry Murray' they would've walked.

Cheech - these two guys are out of the Bronx. They were involved in a case back in 2012 with gambling and a NYC Fireman.

Thanks GM. I remember that case. Didn't recognize the names though

The biggest scumbag in a profession full of scumbags.

Amen to that.

For those who dont know who he is:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xLEe496IS1o

http://m.nydailynews.com/new-york/nyc-crime/papa-smurf-year-prison-article-1.1793721

One year, not too shabby for the lead defendant and an apparent 'ring leader' who Preet swore he would 'hunt down' those of similar ilk.

PB - DWM looks like exactly what you described. In the immortal words of Mortimer Duke.... "I mean, real scum, Randolph!"

Yeah, it's funny because I forgot all about that video when I made that post. My opinion of him is strictly personal. He's a lowlife scumbag. If I saw him catch a heart attack on a secluded street and I was the only person there, I'd walk right by him. No exaggeration. No bullshit. He's human garbage.

Sonny, I just watched that video. Jesus Christ on a cracker, that guy makes no bones about it.
One thing I admire he had the balls to say. "When I was little, I believed in things like my parents, God & Country. My parents are dead, there is no God and the country's full of shit."

give papa smuf his button he's been waiting 100 yrs.

Yeah, I can see how a guy who defends a knife murderer with a fell on the knife excuse can be a scumbag. That's someone who has lost all his morality and substituted reality with his own comfortable version. Wait a minute, that sounds like me lol

You don't quit, do you?

how bout be called as dapper as john gotti in the post article might piss the bosses off no button for him.