A Glen Head man was one of 32 people charged by the U.S. Attorney’s office in conjunction with an FBI investigation into fixing the waste-hauling industry in the greater New York metropolitan area and New Jersey.
Anthony Bazzini, 53, was one of 12 defendants charged Wednesday under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act for his alleged role in trying to exert control over commercial waste-hauling companies, according to Preet Bharara, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York.
“As alleged, organized crime still wraps its tentacles around industries it has fed off for decades, but law enforcement continues to pry loose its grip,” Bharara said. “Here, as described in the indictments, organized crime insinuated itself into the waste disposal industry throughout a vast swath of counties in New York and New Jersey, and the tactics they used to exert and maintain their control come right out of the mafia playbook—extortion, intimidation, and threats of violence.”
Also charged under the RICO Act, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison: Carmine Franco, Anthony Pucciarello, Howard Ross, Anthony Cardinale, Peter Leconte, Frank Oliver, Charles Giustra, Dominick Pietranico, Joseph Sarcinella, William Cali, Scott Fappiano, and Bazzini.
The investigation linked the defendants to three different organized crime families of La Cosa Nostra: Genovese, Gambino, and Luchese crime families. The men are accused of participating in a RICO enterprise in which they worked together to control various waste disposal businesses in New York and New Jersey, including extortion, loansharking, mail and wire fraud and stolen property offenses.
“The indictments show the ongoing threat posed by mob families and their criminal associates,” FBI Assistant Director in Charge George C. Venizelos said of the multi-year investigation. “In addition to the violence that often accompanies their schemes, the economic impact amounts to a mob tax on goods and services. The arrests—the culmination of a long and thorough investigation—also show the ongoing determination of the FBI to diminishing the influence of La Cosa Nostra.”
Bazzini faces an additional charge of extortion conspiracy, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office.
Another 17 defendants are charged with carrying out various illegal activities in relation to the waste hauling industry, Bharara said. These illegal activities include: extortion, mail and wire fraud conspiracy, and interstate transportation of stolen property.
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