How the Mob Is Affecting The County

THE arrests earlier this month of 19 men accused of being members of the Genovese clan, including three who live in Westchester, may have weakened the New York City base of one of the most powerful Mafia families, but Federal and local law enforcement officials said both traditional and emerging organized-crime groups continue to pose a threat in Manhattan, the Bronx and surrounding areas.

"Not only are they living in Westchester but they are also making money here," said Eric Seidel, Deputy Attorney General in charge of the New York State Organized Crime Task Force in White Plains.

Federal officials say the three men who live in Westchester are top leaders in the Genovese family: Liborio (Barney) Bellomo, 39, of Pelham Manor, accused of being the acting boss; Michele (Mickey Dimin) Generoso, 78, of New Rochelle, accused of being the family's acting underboss, and James (Little Jimmy) Ida, 56, of Katonah, accused of being the consigliere, or third-highest ranking member of the family.

They were indicted with the others on June 11 on 60 counts, including murder, racketeering and extortion.

The man accused of being the official boss of the family, 67-year-old Vincent Gigante -- known for walking the streets in a bathrobe and slippers -- lives in Greenwich Village and is awaiting trial in Federal court in Brooklyn on murder and racketeering charges.

Mr. Bellomo is charged with the murder of a former Mafia member suspected of being a Government informant, and with racketeering, extortion of business, labor racketeering, money laundering and loan sharking. He is being held in the Metropolitan Correctional Center without bail.

Mr. Generoso is charged with the murder of two former gang soldiers suspected of being Government informants. He is also charged with racketeering, extortion of businesses, labor racketeering, money laundering and loan sharking. Although he was released on $1.2 million bail, he was placed on home detention.

Mr. Ida is the person responsible for, among other duties, resolving disputes among five New York City organized-crime families -- the Genovese, Gambino, Lucchese, Colombo and Bonanno. He is charged with the murder of two former gang soldiers and with racketeering, extortion of businesses, labor racketeering, money laundering and loan sharking, among other charges, and is being held in the Metropolitan Correctional Center without bail.

Jeanine Pirro, Westchester County District Attorney, said it was not surprising that the three men had chosen Westchester as their home. "It gives the impression that they are respectable citizens," she said.

According to the June 11 indictment, the Genovese family has earned more than $20 million in the last 15 years from mob activities, including extortion, labor racketeering, gambling, loan sharking, money laundering and tax evasion.

Mary Jo White, the United States Attorney in Manhattan, estimated that there were up to 750 "made" (or accepted) members in organized crime families in the New York region, with the Genovese family laying claim to another 2,000 associates and so-called wannabees. She said that in Westchester and other New York City suburban communities, the Mafia was "busy in the carting and solid-waste and construction businesses," including other activities.

Capt. George E. Rutledge, who leads the Yonkers Police Department's special investigative division, said that although representatives of the five traditional families work throughout the county, the Genovese family has been "the most active."

The most recent major action against organized crime in Westchester occurred on Dec. 3, 1995, when 160 state and local police swooped down on 12 gambling telephone banks throughout Westchester minutes before the kickoff of Sunday professional football games. Fourteen men were arrested in the $30 million-a-year operation, the largest gambling bust in Westchester's history.

John Praino, 61, who was arrested and later indicted for promoting gambling in the first degree and other charges, was an accused ringleader linked to Philadelphia's Bruno-Scarfo family and associated with the Genoveses, according to law enforcement officials. The other ringleader, Salvatore Arena, 25, was suspected of having ties to the Genovese family. Mr. Arena is the stepson of former Mount Vernon police Lieut. Robert Astorino, who was convicted in a corruption scandal. Both cases are pending.

That crackdown followed the arrests in August 1995 at Yonkers Raceway of 14 people, including 3 harness drivers -- among them Herve Filion, the most successful driver in the sport's history -- and Daniel P. Kramer, 44, of Scarsdale, the accused mastermind, for their participation in a multimillion-dollar gambling ring.

Evidence by the Attorney General's Organized Crime Task Force and the Westchester County District Attorney's Office showed that the results of at least three races were rigged and three drivers set out to lose. Officials said the Lucchese crime family was involved.

Mr. Kramer, who was accused of operating an international sports gambling ring, which illegally placed wagers on baseball, hockey, basketball and other events, and is charged with running his gambling ring from offices on Garth Road in Eastchester.

The racers and Mr. Kramer are free on bail, and their cases are pending.

Newer organized crime groups have also made inroads in the county, and Ms. White said they might stand to benefit from the recent blows to the Genovese family.

"The worry is that when we clean out one gang, who's going to take over?" she said.

The YACS -- a loosely organized gang of central European immigrants including Yugoslavs, Albanians, Croatians and Serbs -- has been increasingly active in Westchester, authorities say.

The group, which is believed to be responsible for more than 400 robberies and break-ins at supermarkets and automated teller machines in 23 states, is also being used by more traditional gangs as an "enforcement arm," Captain Rutledge said.

Crime families are recruiting the recent immigrants because they are generally more tradition-bound and, therefore, considered less likely than third- and fourth-generation American gangsters to become turncoats.

"Organized crime has been in trouble for years with informers who go into Government witness-protection programs," Captain Rutledge said. "The YACS are valuable to traditional Italian families because they are very ingrained in European values. They don't talk to police."

In May 10 people believed to be members of the YACS were indicted in White Plains Federal Court on charges of committing burglaries and robberies as well as distributing narcotics. The indictment charges that the defendants planned and tried to commit 16 burglaries in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Illinois.

It also said they used elaborate communication devices including police scanners and walkie-talkies and tried to evade being caught by destroying security systems, cutting phone wires and disabling alarm systems.

James K. Kallstrom, assistant director in charge of the New York office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, said the the 10 -- members of "a very violent group" -- remain imprisoned and are awaiting trial. The investigation is continuing, he said.

"What we don't want is to be very efficient and clean out five traditional families and have other groups emerge and take over," he said, explaining the F.B.I.'s strategy against the YACS. "We want to take them out before they have a chance to really get going. We want to hit them hard and hit them early."

Other emerging organized crime groups include the Latin Kings -- the police say their recruits are as young as 7 -- the Netas and the Arabian Knights. A group of Korean massage parlors, which the police contended were fronts for prostitution, were broken up earlier.