Mar 17 2007
As police tapes rolled, conversation flowed at cafe
Two police video cameras taped “191 occasions when substantial amounts of cash were delivered to the heads of the organization and divided among them,” a police affidavit says.
The flow of money was succinctly described on May 23, 2005, when alleged gang boss Rocco Sollecito told Beniamino Zappia in only slightly cryptic language: “When they do something - and it doesn’t matter when they do it - they always bring something here so that it can be divided up among us five: me, Vito, Nicolo, Paolo.” (The fifth man, who he doesn’t mention, is Francesco (Compare Franco) Arcadi, who is alleged to have replaced Vito Rizzuto after his arrest in 2004.
The three bosses to whom Sollecito refers are Vito Rizzuto, who is in prison awaiting trial in the U.S. on charges relating to a 1981 murder in New York; Nicolo (Old Man) Rizzuto, 82, who is Vito’s father; and Paolo Renda, who is Vito Rizzuto’s brother-in-law.
Nicolo Rizzuto, Sollecito and Arcadi were arrested Nov. 22, 2006, in a police sweep after a four-year investigation dubbed Project Colisee. The four men are charged with gangsterism, counselling criminal activity and benefiting from the proceeds of crime. Another 86 defendants also face a variety of charges that include drug trafficking, illegal gambling, gangsterism and conspiracy to commit murder.
After Vito was arrested, Nicolo Rizzuto went to the Consenza every day to meet with other alleged bosses. When the money courier arrived, Rizzuto carefully counted the cash, usually out loud, and then put his take and that of his son in his socks, pocket, wallet or any combination of the three, depending on the size of the cash packets, the police affidavit claims.
The Murders
Gangland murders sparked heightened activity at the headquarters, as happened on March 10, 2005, with the killing of Mafia enforcer Mike Lapolla.
About 2:30 a.m., Lapolla was shot dead in a bar fight with a Haitian gang member at a Laval club called Moomba.
Police say they believe Thierry Beaubrun shot Lapolla in the bar. Beaubrun was then shot in retaliation when he left the bar.
