62 Indicted in Organized-Crime Roundup in N.Y.

NEW YORK, Feb. 7 -- U.S. and Italian law enforcement officials rounded up dozens of organized-crime figures on Thursday, including the top leadership of New York's notorious Gambino family, in what authorities here described as the biggest takedown of the Mafia in recent memory.

Sixty-two people were indicted in New York on charges that ranged from murder and extortion to the theft of union pension funds, and as of Thursday morning, 54 of them were in custody. Those indicted include the Gambino family's acting street "capo," John "Jackie Nose" D'Amico, who was still at large Thursday afternoon. Also indicted were the Gambino family's underboss and its "consigliere."

Members of the Genovese and Bonanno crime families were also arrested, but most of the men named in the indictment and arrested were from the Gambino family. The crime family was once led by John Gotti, who was known as the "Dapper Don" and the "Teflon Don."

The indictment names three Gambino family "captains," three acting "captains" and 16 family "soldiers," and it includes numerous counts of racketeering and extortion, most of which carry prison sentences of as long as 25 years.

"These charges strike at the very core of the Gambino family," said U.S. Attorney Benton J. Campbell, speaking at a news conference in Brooklyn.

The raids were the result of a multiyear investigation that involved, among other things, an informant who was able to infiltrate the Gambino family and provide authorities with hundreds of hours of tape-recorded conversations over three years.

Authorities in Italy also announced a series of arrests of major Mafia figures in coordinated raids. The transatlantic operation was dubbed "Old Bridge."

Italian magistrates signed more than two dozen arrest warrants, and several top crime figures, mostly in Sicily, were in custody, according to news agencies. Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi called the raids "a brilliant operation against organized crime," the Reuters news agency reported.

The 80-page indictment unveiled Thursday at the federal court in Brooklyn details an alleged web of organized-crime activity that stretches back three decades, including seven slayings from as far back as the 1970s and 1980s.

The indictment also documents alleged links between the Mafia and the construction industry in New York, with several of the largest New York construction firms allegedly controlled or influenced by the Gambino family and paying a "mob tax" to operate with protection. Through the construction companies, the Gambino family was able to embezzle union dues and pension benefits, the indictment alleges.

New York Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly said the raids smashed one of the Gambino family's most profitable enterprises, illegal gambling.

"The Gambino organization spilled a lot of blood in New York, and it is being held accountable -- no matter how long it takes," Kelly said in a statement. "This history of violence has been abetted, often unwittingly, by people who see nothing wrong with placing a bet with a mobbed-up bookie."

The indictment includes Gambino family associates such as Domenico "The Greaseball" Cefalu, Richard "Fat Richie" Ranieri, John "Johnny Red Rose" Pisano and Thomas "Tommy Sneakers" Cacciopoli.

Though officials hailed this takedown as a major victory against the mob, they also cautioned that organized crime is still a major force in New York.

"You can never say that organized crime is wiped out," Kelly told reporters. "They're very resilient. They're very tenacious. But this is a major blow."

New York Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo said: "Organized crime still exists in the city and state of New York. . . . It's as unrelenting as weeds that continue to sprout in the cracks of society."