James Galante
James Galante (b. 1953) is a convicted felon and reputed Cosa Nostra figure, owner of the defunct Danbury Trashers minor league hockey team, and CEO of Automated Waste Disposal (AWD), a company which holds waste disposal contracts for most of western Connecticut and Westchester and Putnam counties in New York. In 1999, Galante was sentenced in to 12 months and a day in federal prison after pleading guilty to tax evasion.[1] He currently faces various indictments relating to his involvement with organized crime and his role with both AWD and the Trashers. Galante has pleaded innocent and is awaiting trial on 93 charges ranging from racketeering to witness tampering.[2]
Controversy
AWD - Automated Waste Disposal
Galante's business, which handles 80% of garbage hauling in Western Connecticut [3] was accused of muscling out local competition through no-bid contracts and payments of up to $120,000 per year to Genovese crime family boss Matthew "Matty the Horse," Ianniello.[4] In September of 2006, Ianniello pled guilty to racketeering and interfering with a federal grand jury probe and was sentenced to between one and a half to two years in prison.[5] Galante was indicted in 2006 on charges of paying a 'mob tax' to Ianniello, the alleged boss of the Genovese crime family.[6]
Danbury Trashers - United Hockey League
In June, 2006, twenty-nine people, including James Galante and former Trashers' coach Todd Stirling, were indicted for defrauding the United Hockey League in the Trashers' operation. Among the indictees was Matthew "Matty the Horse," Ianniello of Old Westbury, New York, a reputed boss in the Genovese family.
Stirling and Galante allegedly violated the UHL's $275,000 per team salary cap by giving several players and their wives no-show jobs with AWD and hiding illegitimate payments as housing allowances. Stirling also faced six counts of wire fraud related to the filing of fraudulent weekly salary cap reports. According to the indictment, the Trashers' real payroll was nearly $750,000.[7].
Amidst these allegations, the Danbury Trashers suspended operations and released their players. In a separate incident, in December 2004 Galante was charged with assaulting a United Hockey League official during a game between the Trashers and Kalamazoo Wings.[5]
Putnam Victory Fund
Galante was accused of donating to a PAC (Political Action Committee) which laundered money to several politicians who may have used their influence to award contracts to Galante's trash hauling business.[7] Former State Assemblyman Willis Stephens, who also serves as the legal counsel to the town of Southeast, New York, accepted over $9,000 from Galante, who was in turn awarded a 1.5 million dollar no-bid garbage contract by the town board after his recommendation.[8]
Louis DeLuca Scandal
In 2007, Former Connecticut State Senate Minority Leader Louis DeLuca pled guilty to misdemeanor charges in connection with Galante. DeLuca had Galante intervene on behalf of the husband of DeLuca's granddaughter, whom DeLuca believed was being abused. DeLuca also accepted large donations from Galante and his associates and allegedly promised to look out for Galante's interests. As of November 2007, a State Senate Committee was considering an appropriate sanction for DeLuca.[2]
Other Connecticut politicians, including Connecticut U.S. Senator Joe Lieberman, also received campaign funds raised by Galante; however, Lieberman and the other recipients have not been linked to any actions on Galante's behalf.
On November 13, 2007 DeLuca cut the investigation short by announcing his resignation from the State Senate, effective November 30, 2007 [1]
References
- ^ "Ball assails Stephens over Southeast trash contract". The Journal News. August 23, 2006.
- ^ a b Cite news |url=http://www.nhregister.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=18667089&BRD=1281&PAG=461&dept_id=31007&rfi=6 |publisher= New Haven Register |title= DeLuca scandal appears unending |date=August 6, 2007 }}
- ^ "Indicted trash magnate says feds ruining his businesses". Associated Press. August 29, 2006.
- ^ "INVESTIGATION INTO CONNECTICUT & NEW YORK TRASH HAULING INDUSTRY RESULTS IN INDICTMENT OF 29 INDIVIDUALS". Federal Bureau of Investigation, United States Attorney's Office, District of Connecticut. August 29, 2006.
- ^ a b "Galante ally pleads guilty in New York Case". Danbury News Times. September 14, 2006. Cite error: The named reference "”five”" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
- ^ "Reputed Mob Figure, trash hauler arrested". Washington Post. June 2006.
- ^ a b "Former hockey coach living in Plymouth charged with fraud in mob investigation". The Patriot Ledger. June 12, 2006. Cite error: The named reference "”six”" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
- ^ "Secrecy is not best reaction to Federal Investigation". Danbury News Times. August 24, 2006.