Two locals charged with mob involvement

Two East Meadow men were arrested last week for allegedly participating in a mob ring that recruited several Eastern European and Russian women to illegally enter the U.S. and work as exotic dancers at four strip clubs in Queens and Long Island.

On Nov. 30, 20 suspects, including seven Long Island residents, were charged with involvement in the scheme, which, according to federal prosecutors, was controlled in large part by the Gambino and Bonnano organized-crime families, which have long been on the radar of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Anthony Frascone, 62, of East Meadow, who is a member or associate of the Bonanno organization, according to prosecutors, faces charges of racketeering, racketeering conspiracy and extortion conspiracy.

Thomas Devitt II, 43, of East Meadow, also known as “Tommy D,” was charged with visa fraud conspiracy and conspiracy to transport, harbor and induce entry of illegal aliens.

Other Long Islanders arrested in the scheme include Paul Casella of Franklin Square, Lawrence Zaino of Westbury, Elena Turubanova of Dix Hills, Gerald Monfort of West Babylon and Oscar Zeledon of East Hampton.

All of the defendants pleaded not guilty in federal court on Nov. 30, and most were released on bail, said Jerika Richardson, a representative of the U.S. attorney’s office. They were due back in court on Friday.

According to the indictment announced by Preet Bharara, U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York; James Hayes Jr., New York special agent for Immigration and Customs Enforcement; and Robert Goodrich, special agent for the Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service, the defendants were luring East European and Russian women with false promises of waitressing jobs. According to prosecutors, the defendants controlled the four unnamed clubs used in the scheme through intimidation and threats of physical and economic harm, and the owners of the clubs — who were not identified in the indictment — were forced to make payments in exchange for protection.

Once the women entered the country, they were forced to work as exotic dancers in the clubs, prosecutors said, and many entered fraudulent marriages with U.S. citizens so they could achieve legal status.

“The defendants themselves had one thing in common — the desire to turn the women they allegedly helped enter this country illegally into their personal profit centers,” Bharara said last week. “Today’s arrests have brought an end to their illicit activities.”

According to Bharara, all of the defendants appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Gabriel Gorenstein in Manhattan federal court on Nov. 30. They face sentences of up to 20 years in prison.

“Today’s arrests bring to an end a longstanding criminal enterprise operated by colluding organized-crime entities that profited wildly through a combination of extortion and fraud,” Hayes said. “As alleged, the defendants controlled their business and protected their turf through intimidation and threats of physical and economic harm … [T]hat business model has been extinguished.”