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Tag Archives: Michael J. Persico

NEW YORK — Eight people linked to the Colombo organized crime family have been charged in a federal case involving bribery and extortion at the World Trade Center site

An indictment unsealed today in Brooklyn alleges that a mob-controlled trucking company paid kickbacks to win a subcontract with a demolition company working at ground zero. Prosecutors also say the defendants threatened employees with the demolition company when it failed to pay on time.

Wiretaps captured one defendant saying the employees were “shakin’ in their boots over us.”

Authorities say the case is part of an aggressive campaign to bring down the Colombos. In 2007, former acting boss Alphonse Persico Jr. was convicted of murder in aid of racketeering.