FBI cracks down on mafia, arrests more than 100

New York, Jan 21 (IANS/EFE) The FBI and other US agencies arrested more than 110 people Thursday in a massive operation targeting organised crime in the Northeast and New England, Attorney General Eric Holder said.

“This is one of the largest single-day operations against the mafia in the FBI’s history, both in terms of the number of defendants arrested and charged, and the scope of the criminal activity alleged,” he told a press conference in Brooklyn, New York.

The defendants include reputed members of all five New York-based families: the Bonanno, Colombo, Gambino, Genovese and Lucchese outfits, Holder said.

Also indicted were members and associates of New Jersey’s DeCavalcante family and the New England-based Patriarca organization.

“Today’s arrests mark an important, and encouraging, step forward in disrupting La Cosa Nostra’s operations. But our battle against organised crime enterprises is far from over,” he said.

The defendants face charges that include murder, drug trafficking, extortion, illegal gambling, arson, loan sharking and labour racketeering.

“Some allegations involve classic mob hits to eliminate perceived rivals. Others involve senseless murders,” the attorney general said, citing a case where two people were allegedly gunned down in a bar after an argument over a spilled drink.

Some 800 federal, state and local law enforcement personnel took part in the arrests.

–IANS/EFE