Joseph Caridi
Joseph "Joe C." Caridi (born 1949) a New York mobster and current Consigliere of the Lucchese crime family.[1]
[edit] Lucchese family
In the mid 1980s, Caridi was reportedly inducted into the Lucchese crime family, then under the leadership of boss Victor Amuso. When Amuso was sent to prison in the early 1990s, Caridi became the caporegime of the Long Island and Queens factions, assisted by Lucchese mobster John Cerrella. They became top members of the Long Island and Queens faction. Caridi was later nicknamed by the media as the "Tony Soprano of Long Island".[1] Caridi resides in Northport, New York.
In 2001, Caridi took control of the Hudson & McCoy Fish House, a restaurant in Freeport, Long Island, after the owner asked him for help. The owner's partner Lewis Kasman, a Gambino crime family associate, had been stealing money from the restaurant. Caridi successfully removed Lewis and then started stealing money himself. At one point, Caridi was extorting up to $10,000 per night from the restaurant. Caridi also forced the owner to buy his bread from a mob-affiliated supplier.[2]
[edit] Consigliere
The power in the Lucchese family shifted in early 2001, when Louis "Louie Bagels" Daidone was promoted to acting boss, allowing Caridi to be promoted to consigliere. On November 14, 2002, Caridi was indicted on state charges of extorting money from an adult video store, loan sharking, and illegal gambling along with Lucchese family members John "Johnny Sideburns" Cerrella and Vincent "Vinny Casablanca" Mancione.[3] On December 10, 2002, Caridi was indicted federal charges of extorting money from the Hudson & McCoy Fish House, based on testimony from former acting boss Joseph "Little Joe" DeFede and soldier Vincent Salanardi. The government had over 1,000 hours of taped conversations of Caridi and other Lucchese family members.
On March 23, 2003, Caridi pleaded guilty to extortion and to federal tax evasion between 1997 and 2002. Caridi also admitted running a sports betting operation from his house in East Northport, New York.[4][5] As part of this federal plea agreement, the State of New York dropped its November 2002 charges.[2] On December 18, 2003, Caridi was sentenced to 96 months in federal prison.[2][6] In a separate case in 2003 the acting boss Louis Daidone was convicted and received a life sentence, this promoted Caridi to official consigliere.
Caridi served his sentence at the Allenwood Federal Correctional Complex (FCC) in Allenwood, Pennsylvania before being released on November 27, 2009.[7] His ally Cerrella was released from prison the same day.[1]
[edit] References
Notes
- ^ a b c Murray Weiss and Chuck Bennett (March 9, 2009) It's a Mob scene parade of Mafia bigs ends jail stints in '09. New York Post
- ^ a b c Mike Claffey and John Marzulli (December 11, 2002) "FEDS BUST L.I. 'SOPRANOS' Say mobsters put bite on restaurant" NY Daily News
- ^ Anthony M. DeStefano (December 12, 2002) "Feds Cite Mob Role In Eatery – 27 Named in Racket Tied to Freeport Restaurant" NY Newsday
- ^ Andy Newman (March 20, 2003) "Mob Figure Admits Skimming from Long Island Restaurant" New York Times
- ^ Anthony M. DeStefano (March 21, 2003) "Reputed Mobster Pleads Guilty to Eatery Extortion" NY Newsday
- ^ "Lucchese" The Changing Face of ORGANIZED CRIME IN NEW JERSEY – State of New Jersey Commission of Investigation 2004 Report
- ^ Bureau of Prisons Inmate Locator
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