Gambino crime family linked to international drug-trafficking ring

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Authorities arrested 24 alleged mobsters in both Italy and New York
Officials say the gangsters were planning to move 1,000 pounds of cocaine from South America to Italy
After cutting, authorities estimate the cocaine was worth about $1 billion

Published: 11:51 EST, 11 February 2014 | Updated: 18:19 EST, 11 February 2014

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Police in Italy and New York broke up a major trans-Atlantic mafia ring on Tuesday, arresting 24 people accused of plotting to move hundreds of millions of dollars in drugs between South America, Italy and the United States.

The sting operation involving undercover agents and wire taps offered more evidence the Calabria-based 'Ndrangheta had overtaken its Sicilian cousin, the Cosa Nostra, and was trying to make inroads in the United States by forging ties with one of the traditional New York mob families, the Gambinos.

FBI and Italian agents jointly carried out 'Operation New Bridge' simultaneously just after midnight in Brooklyn and just before dawn in Italy, American and Italian officials told a news conference in Rome.

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Gambino associate Franco Lupoli was one of 24 alleged mobsters busted in early morning raids in both the U.S. and Italy

Brooklyn: Charles 'Charlie Pepsi' Centaro, a Bonanna family associate, was arrested in Brooklyn just after midnight

International: The alleged plan hatched by the Gambinos and Italian mobsters was to move South American cocaine to the U.S. and Italy

A combo picture of (top row, L-R) Nicola Carrozza, Vincenzo Parrelli, Cosimo Ienco, (middle row, L-R) Mario Ursini, Domenico Geranio, Cosimo Marando, (bottom row, L-R) Carlo Piscioneri, Nicola Antonio Nicoletta and Francesco Ursino, who were arrested in the joint operation 'New Bridge' in Italy

Busted: U.S. and Italian authorities busted a billion-dollar cocaine deal between the Gambino crime family and Italian mobsters

FBI and Italian agents jointly carried out "Operation New Bridge" simultaneously just after midnight in Brooklyn and just before dawn in Italy

Those arrested were accused of international drugs trafficking, money laundering and membership in organized crime.

The clans of the Calabrian 'Ndrangheta, a version of the Sicilian Mafia on the southern mainland, and members of the Gambino Mafia family in New York, were in the advanced stages of plans to smuggle some 500 kg (1,000 pounds) of pure cocaine from Guyana in South America to the port of Gioia Tauro in Calabria.

Italian investigators estimated the street value of the cocaine after cutting at about $1 billion.

The drugs, supplied by Latin American drug cartels, were to have been sent to Italy hidden in shipments of canned fruit. Some of it would then have been smuggled to the United States.

'The 'Ndrangheta determined to move deadly narcotics across international boundaries, attempting to build a bridge of criminality and corruption to stretch from South America to Italy and back to New York,' said assistant U.S. attorney Marshall Miller.

Gotti: The Gambino crime family was once headed by notorious New York mobster John Gotti and later by his son John Gotti Jr.

Who are the Gambinos?

The Gambino crime family is one of what is widely referred to as 'The Five Families' of Italian organized crime operations in New York City and other parts of the United States. The Gambino's rise to become one of the most powerful mafia families in America started in 1957, when the family's namesake, Carlos Gambino - an Italian immigrant - orchestrated the murder of Albert Anastasia, who had organized a collection of Italian gangs into what now would be considered a 'crime family.' Gambino headed the organization until 1976, when he handed power over to his brother-in-law Paul Castellano. Like other mafia families, the Gambinos took their methods from the crime families in Italy - La Cosa Nostra - and were involved in illegal activities like loan-sharking, extortion, prostitution, gambling and money laundering - as well as the frequent assaults and murders associated with those types of business ventures. In 1985, Gambino 'capo' John Gotti orchestrated the murder of Castellano to become the most publicized boss of the family. Gotti's reign came to an end when his underboss, Sammy 'The Bull' Gravano agreed to testify against him and other members of the family in a 1992 RICO trial. Since Gotti's downfall, the Gambinos - and other mafia families - have lost much of the power they once had over politicians, judges and labor unions. It is believed that the family is now headed by Domenico Cefalu, who lives in Brooklyn.

He told reporters at a news conference at the headquarters of Italy's anti-Mafia investigators with other U.S. and Italian investigators that the operation struck at 'the heart of international organized crime.'

The operation began in 2012 when investigators detected a plan by members of the Ursino clan of the 'Ndrangheta to smuggle large amounts of drugs.

An undercover agent was dispatched to Italy and was successful in infiltrating the clan. An undercover agent was also involved in the handover of 1.3 kg of heroin in New York as part of the infiltration operation.

They said the plan involved 'Ndrangheta members in both Italy and New York who had forged an alliance with the Gambino family of the U.S. Mafia.

The FBI and Italian investigators intercepted email messages between mobsters in Italy and the New Socco Enterprise fruit canning company in Georgetown, Guyana.

During the investigation police wire taps indicated the group was also considering arms trafficking on a considerable scale but that plan never moved beyond the initial stages.

'Rat': Mob turncoat Sammy 'The Bull' Gravano helped put a dent in the Gambino crime enterprise, but it still exists today

Investigators say that in recent years 'Ndrangheta clans have made inroads in criminal activity in northern Italy and elsewhere in Europe, particularly in Germany and now want to expand in the United States.

'What we see here is 'Ndrangheta attempting to gain a foothold in the New York area and the United States,' Miller said. 'We also see efforts to forge cooperation between the 'Ndrangheta and the Cosa Nostra,' he said.