FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, August 4, 1998
Contact: Jeff Nelligan
Telephone: (202) 366-6312
OIG 24-98
Three Convicted of Racketeering, Extortion in Building Airport Monorail
A federal jury on July 27, 1998, found three men, alleged to have ties to organized crime, guilty of racketeering and extortion in connection with work on the Newark Airport monorail project between 1991 and 1993.
At the close of a six-week trial, a U.S. District Court jury sitting in Trenton, N.J., convicted Rosario Gangi, Brooklyn, N.Y.; John Albert, North Brunswick, N.J., and Vincent DiModica, Belleville, N.J. U.S. Attorney Faith S. Hochberg stated that Gangi and Albert have ties to the Genovese crime family and DiModica is linked to the Gambino crime organization.
The case was investigated by the FBI and the Office of Inspector General in the Department of Transportation, assisted by the Inspector General of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.
In an indictment handed up in February, all three men were alleged to have extorted money from contractors and subcontractors using threats of economic injury and labor unrest. Prosecutors demonstrated at trial that Gangi directed a contractor on the monorail to reinstate, and make additional payments, to a subcontractor no longer working on the project.
The prosecution also demonstrated that, on another occasion, DiModica demanded to be put on a contractor's payroll as a "no-show" employee and caused work disruptions when he was removed. To prevent further trouble, the contractor put DiModica back on the payroll with back pay. Albert was convicted of extortion against two subcontractors working on the monorail project and against a demolition contractor working on several unrelated projects in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. He also provided false references for a monorail contractor.
Gangi was found guilty of two counts of racketeering and three counts of extortion. Each count carries a potential 20-year prison sentence.
Albert was found guilty of two counts of racketeering, two counts of fraud and 10 counts of extortion. The racketeering and extortion charges each carry maximum 20-year sentences, while the fraud counts could bring up to five years' imprisonment each.
DiModica, already imprisoned for his July 1997 conviction on other racketeering charges, was found guilty of two counts of racketeering and two counts of extortion. He could get 20-year sentences for each of his new convictions.
Sentencing is set for October.
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