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Salvatore LoCascio (born July 21, 1958) is a reputed former caporegime in the New York Gambino crime family. His father, Frank LoCascio, was the acting underboss (1988-1990), and acting consigliere (1990-1992) for John Gotti.
LoCascio grew up in Eastchester, New York. In 1985, with $115,000 that he received from wedding gifts he started his own business, Creative Program Communications, Incorporated with a few friends.
In 1998, LoCascio and Michael "Mikey Scars" DiLeonardo were arrested for attempting to extort money from Scores, a famous upscale strip club in Manhattan. However, the case against LoCascio was weak, so prosecutors offered to drop the charges. In return, LoCascio pleaded guilty to tax evasion for deriving income from illegal gambling. He was sentenced to ten months, part of which was home arrest, and a $1.5 million fine. At the time of his plea, Locascio ran numerous 900 number phone services, from psychic hot lines to sports scores.
While serving his time in home, LoCascio was already building what would be called the largest consumer fraud in American history. Along with Gambino mob soldier Richard "Richie" Martino, LoCascio created a number of pornographic websites. These websites were formed through a partnership between Martino and Norman Chanes, a direct marketer. The scam required an age verification check before an adult could access a "free preview" of the sexual content. To perform an age verification check, the customer had to enter their credit card information. The websites clearly stated that the viewer was getting a free preview and their credit card would not be charged. In reality, Locascio and crew were fraudulently charging $25 to $75 on these accounts.
Local phone carrier services had been allowing third party telecommunication companies to bill existing customers for services rendered. Typically this would include items such as voice mail and overseas long distance charges. The LoCascio crew then set about billing customers located primarily in the United States mid west for charges they had not requested. This billing was facilitated through the now defunct USP&C of Overland Park, Kansas. The scheme is known as 'cramming'.
Soon complaints from victims of both the internet sites and phone bills caught the attention of the US Justice Department. By February 2004, the entire LoCascio crew had been arrested. Federal prosecutors estimate that the Gambinos grossed approximately $500 million from the phone cramming operation. LoCascio was sentenced to two years in federal prison; he was released on August 1, 2008.
John Joseph Gotti Jr. was an American gangster and boss of the Gambino crime family in New York City. He ordered and helped to orchestrate the murder of Gambino boss Paul Castellano in December 1985 and took over the family shortly thereafter, becoming boss of what was described as America's most powerful crime syndicate.
Salvatore "Sammy the Bull" Gravano is an American former mobster who became underboss of the Gambino crime family. As the underboss, Gravano played a major role in prosecuting John Gotti, the crime family's boss, by agreeing to testify as a government witness against him and other mobsters in a deal in which he confessed to involvement in 19 murders.
The Gambino crime family is an Italian-American Mafia crime family and one of the "Five Families" that dominated organized crime activities in New York City, within the nationwide criminal phenomenon known as the American Mafia. The group, which went through five bosses between 1910 and 1957, is named after Carlo Gambino, boss of the family at the time of the McClellan hearings in 1963, when the structure of organized crime first gained public attention. The group's operations extend from New York and the eastern seaboard to California. Its illicit activities include labor and construction racketeering, gambling, loansharking, extortion, money laundering, prostitution, fraud, hijacking, and fencing.
The Genovese crime family, also sometimes referred to as the Westside, is an Italian-American Mafia crime family and one of the "Five Families" that dominate organized crime activities in New York City and New Jersey as part of the American Mafia. They have generally maintained a varying degree of influence over many of the smaller mob families outside New York, including ties with the Philadelphia, Patriarca, and Buffalo crime families.
Frank Alphonse "Funzi" Tieri was an Italian-American mobster who eventually became the front boss of the Genovese crime family of New York City.
Carmine "The Bull" Agnello is a New York mobster of the Gambino crime family who ran a scrap metal recycling operation.
The Colombo crime family is an Italian American Mafia crime family and is the youngest of the "Five Families" that dominate organized crime activities in New York City within the criminal organization known as the American Mafia. It was during Lucky Luciano's organization of the American Mafia after the Castellammarese War, following the assassinations of "Joe the Boss" Masseria and Salvatore Maranzano, that the gang run by Joseph Profaci became recognized as the Profaci crime family.
Richard Martino is a member of the New York Gambino crime family who was involved in Internet and phone scams that cost consumers $750 million. Martino introduced the Cosa Nostra into this area of crime.
Frank "Frankie Loc" LoCascio was an American mobster who rose to become Consigliere of the Gambino crime family under the administration of John Gotti.
Thomas Francis Gambino was an Italian-American New York City mobster and a longtime caporegime of the Gambino crime family who successfully controlled lucrative trucking rackets in the New York City Garment District. He was the son of Carlo Gambino and nephew of Paul Castellano.
The Ozone Park Boys, also known as "Liberty Posse" and "The Young Guns", are a Gambino crime family Mafia crew based in Ozone Park, Queens. They are infamous for their massive number of crimes, including an illegal $30 million-a-year sports gambling enterprise.
Joseph "Jo Jo" Corozzo, Sr. is a New York mobster who was the reputed consigliere of the Gambino crime family.
Louis Vallario, also known as "Big Louie" and "Big Lou", is a member of the Gambino crime family who was a top aide to boss John Gotti and Salvatore "Sammy the Bull" Gravano in the late 1980s.
George "Big Georgie" DeCicco was a New York mobster and longtime captain in the Gambino crime family. DeCicco is one of the last captains of the old John Gotti administration in the 1980s who have not been under any indictment until now. DeCicco is the brother of former Gambino underboss Frank DeCicco, who was killed in a car-bomb meant for his boss John Gotti, ordered by then boss of the Genovese crime family who is now deceased, Vincent "Chin" Gigante, and Lucchese crime family leaders Vittorio "Vic" Amuso and Anthony "Gaspipe" Casso as revenge for the murder of former Gambino crime family boss, Paul Castellano, a strong ally of both the Genovese and Lucchese crime families.
Gaetano "Corky" Vastola is a New Jersey mobster who became a captain in the DeCavalcante crime family in New Jersey.
ILD Teleservices, is a clearing house for LEC billing and alternative payment options, such as e-checks, ACH and micro payments. ILD performs payment processing services for communications companies, digital content providers, and other online vendors in North America. Founded in 1996, the company is headquartered in Ponte Vedra, Florida. In recent years, the company has been the subject of many consumer complaints as well as legal action brought by at least two states and the Federal Trade Commission. In 2003, ILD settled with the Federal Trade Commission.
Cramming is a form of fraud in which small charges are added to a bill by a third party without the subscriber's consent, approval, authorization or disclosure. These may be disguised as a tax, some other common fee or a bogus service, and may be several dollars or even just a few cents. The crammer's intent is that the subscriber will overlook and ultimately pay these small charges without challenging their legitimacy or inquiring further.