US v. Private Sanitation Industry Ass'n
| Decision Date | 29 June 1992 |
| Docket Number | No. CV-89-1848.,CV-89-1848. |
| Parties | UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff, v. PRIVATE SANITATION INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION OF NASSAU/SUFFOLK, INC., Local 813 of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, A-1 Carting Company, AA & M Carting Company, Ace Garbage & Rubbish Removal, Inc., All Weather Carting Corporation, Associated Waste Disposal Company, B & D Carting, Inc., Bonsera, Inc. d/b/a Star Carting Corp., Budget Roll-Off Systems, Inc., C & C Refuse Carting Corporation, Ciano and Sons Carting Co., Inc., Comet Carting Company, Daniel Finley Allen Co., Inc., Delta Carting Corporation, Dependable Sanitation Corp., Detail Carting, Enviro Carting Company d/b/a Island Carting Company, Ever Ready Sanitation Corporation, Harbor Carting Corp., Hickey's Carting, Inc., Hillside Carting Company, Inc., Jamaica Ash & Rubbish Removal Co., Inc., Long Island Rubbish Removal Corp., Maggio's M & P Carting Service, Inc., MCM Sanitation, Inc. d/b/a Island Carting Company, Metro Waste, Inc., Mets Roll-Off Service, Inc., Monbro Sanitation Service, Inc., Prudential Waste Disposal, Inc., Sail Carting & Recycling Corp., Salem Sanitary Carting Corporation, South Side Carting Co., Inc., SSC Corporation, Standard Commercial Cartage, Inc., Sun Carting, Inc., Sunset Sanitation Corp., Superior Waste Systems, Inc., TWA Carting Corporation, II Cousins Carting Corp., U-Need-A-Roll-Off Corporation, Unique Sanitation Corp., Vigliotti Brothers Carting Corporation, Vinnie Monte's Waste System, Inc., V & J Rubbish Removal, Inc., Wayside Carting, Inc., Michael Acquafredda, Bernard Adelstein, John Allen, Sarah Allen, James Allesandria, Vito Aniello, Salvatore Avellino, Jr., Joseph Bonsera, Michael Bonsera, Charles Cannizzaro, Richard Carey, Pasquale Casagrande, Richard Ciano, Raniero Colatosti, Craig Comerford, Antonio Corallo, James J. Corrigan, Jr., Edward DeMatteo, Ernest DeMatteo, Emedio Fazzini, Joseph Ferrante, Nicholas Ferrante, John Guglielmo, John Haynes, Dennis Hickey, Robert Husak, Jerome Kowalski, Vincent Maggio, Michael Malena, John Maratea, Peter Marcello, Anthony Miello, Anthony Montesano, Jr., Vincent Montesano, Anthony Natale, Frank Notarantonio, John Pagano, Frank Palopoli, Salvatore Palopoli, David Pamlanye, Steven Pamlanye, Ralph Pantony, Joseph Petrizzo, Joseph Pezza, Pasquale Pezza, Peter Reali, Robert Renna, Arthur Romersa, Thomas Ronga, Franco Rotundo, Salvatore Santoro, Robert Schuman, John Senia, Pat Sesti, Peter Stramiello, Glenn Thweatt, Orlando Velocci, Anthony Vespucci, Allen Vesting, Arnold Vigliotti, Glen Vilchek, Joseph Vittorio, Michael Walstrum, and James Winters, Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Eastern District of New York |
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Paul A. Batista, New York City, for Vincent Maggio, Unique Sanitation Corp., Maggio's M & P Carting, U-Need-A-Roll-Off Corp., Joseph Ferrante, Nicholas Ferrante, Bonsera, Inc., d/b/a Star, Joseph Bonsera, Michael Bonsera.
Fred P. Bennett, Woodbury, N.Y., for David Pamlanye, Steven Pamlanye.
Warren M. Berger, Commack, N.Y., for Ciano & Sons, Richard Ciano.
Judd Burstein, New York City, for Frank Notarantonio, Joseph Petrizzo, Robert Renna, Ace Garbage & Rubbish, Mets Roll-Off Service, Inc., Prudential Waste Disposal, TWA Sanitation, John Pagano.
Paul F. Corcoran, Speno, Goldman, Goldberg, Corcoran & Steingart, Mineola, N.Y., for Detail Carting, Thomas Ronga.
Richard H. Cunningham, Smithtown, N.Y., Kevin Fitzgerald, for Ever Ready Sanitation, Sun Carting, James Winters, Glen Vilchek.
Gallop Dawson & Clayman, New York City, for Salem Sanitary Carting, Salvatore Avellino, Michael Malena, SSC Corp.
Peter J. Driscoll, Kostelanetz, Ritholz, Tigue & Fink, New York City, for Private Sanitation, C & C Refuse Carting, Glenn Thweatt, Hickey's Carting, Inc., Dennis Hickey, Allen Vesting.
James Druker, Garden City, N.Y., for V & J Rubbish Removal, James Allesandria.
James T. Gucciardo, Huntington, N.Y., for Harbor Carting, Raniero Colotosti.
Arthur Goldstein, Goldstein & Rubinton, Huntington, N.Y., for Enviro Carting, MCM Sanitation, Charles Cannizzaro, Anthony Miello.
Leonard Halpern, Halpern & Zuckerman, Bay Shore, N.Y., for Comet Carting, John Maratea.
Hoffman & Pollok, New York City, for A.A. & M. Carting Service, Michael Acquafredda.
George Lasch, Moriches, N.Y., for Michael Walstrum.
Peter H. Mayer, Clayton & Mayer, Hauppauge, N.Y., for Richard Carey.
Richard Miller, Ronkonkoma, N.Y., for A-1 Carting, Joseph Pezza, Pasquale Pezza, Hillside Carting, Peter Reali.
Steven B. Nacht, Setauket, N.Y., for John Senia.
Gilbert T. Perlman, Great Neck, N.Y., for Long Island Rubbish.
John G. Poli, III, Raskin, Haas & Poli, Huntington, N.Y., for Pat Sesti.
Ronald G. Russo, Fischetti, Pomerantz & Russo, New York City, for Associated Waste Disposal, Dependable Sanitation, Vito Aniello, John Haynes, Anthony Natale, Metro Waste, Inc., Monbro Sanitation Service, Anthony Montesano, Jr., Peter Marcello, Standard Commercial, Robert Schuman.
Joseph W. Ryan, Jr., Uniondale, N.Y., for Vigliotti Carting, Arnold Vigliotti.
Laura Sapienza, Farrell, Fritz, Caemmerer, Cleary, Barnosky & Armentano, Uniondale, N.Y., for B & D Carting, South Side Carting, Robert Husak, Orlando Velocci.
Stephen P. Scaring, P.C., Mineola, N.Y., for Daniel Finley Allen, Co., Jamaica Ash, John Allen, Sara Allen, Emedio Fazzine, II Cousins Carting, John Guglielmo.
Gerald L. Shargel, New York City, for Sail Carting, Edward DeMatteo, Ernest DeMatteo.
Lark J. Shlimbaum, Shlimbaum & Shlimbaum, Islip, N.Y., for Budget Roll-Off, Sunset Sanitation, Superior Waste, Frank Palopoli, Salvatore Palopoli.
Karen Silverman, LaRossa, Mitchell & Ross, New York City, for Anthony Vespucci.
Barry I. Slotnick, Slotnick & Baker, New York City, for Local 813, Bernard Adelstein.
David Sutton, Garden City, N.Y., for Delta Carting, Ralph Pantony.
Jeffrey Waller, Huntington, N.Y., for Craig Comerford.
A. Jeffrey Weiss, Garden City, N.Y., for James J. Corrigan, Jr., Arthur Romersa, Vincent Montesano, Vinnie Monte's Waste Systems, Wayside Carting, Inc., Frank Rotundo.
David M. Nocenti, Asst. U.S. Atty., for plaintiff U.S.
This is a civil action brought by the United States of America under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, 18 U.S.C. §§ 1961 et seq. ("RICO"). As filed, the complaint sets forth 47 claims for relief against 112 defendants who are alleged to have committed 486 acts of racketeering through 46 separate enterprises. In a transparent endeavor to lay claim to "the largest civil RICO case ever,"1 the government attorneys who drafted this complaint have multiplied defendants, enterprises, and predicate acts as though numbers were ends in themselves; and, yet, unfortunately, those draftsmen have also attempted to present the elements of their claims in the most summary form. The result — in derogation of the spirit of Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 8(a) — is a complaint that is neither "short" nor "plain." Indeed, at all too many points, the result is a complaint as to which persons "of common intelligence must necessarily guess at its meaning." Confronted with this obscure pleading, most of the defendants have moved to dismiss the complaint; for the reasons indicated below, their motions are granted in part and denied in part.
The facts that underlie this transaction are, for the purposes of this motion, assumed to be true as set out in the complaint. The government alleges that, for several decades, the solid waste disposal industry in the New York counties of Nassau and Suffolk has been "infiltrated, controlled, influenced, corrupted and run by organized crime." Complaint ¶ 1. The complaint states that the Lucchese Organized Crime Family of La Cosa Nostra and the Gambino Organized Crime Family of La Cosa Nostra have been the principal sources of such Mafia influence.2 Id. According to the government, this "control of the industry by organized crime has eliminated competition and has cost the residents and the businesses of those counties millions of dollars." Id. Furthermore, the presence and the influence of the Mafia "has been accomplished through the use of threats and violence, through the infiltration and the control of labor unions, and through the bribery and the corruption of local government officials and employees." Id. Finally, "members and associates of organized crime families were and are directors, officers, employees and ... shareholders of various carting companies" that do business in Nassau County and in Suffolk County. Id. ¶ 5.
The government alleges that the carting business on Long Island is conducted through an "illegal customer allocation agreement." Id. ¶ 7. No member of this cartel "seeks or accepts business from customers allocated to another carter who is a member of the cartel." Id. Additionally, the members of this cartel "rig" bids on public carting contracts. Id. ¶ 8. This "agreement among the carting companies and their principals is enforced by members and associates of organized crime families, and any attempt by rebel carters that is, non-cartel carters to compete for existing customers or to submit competitive bids is met with immediate threats of violence ... or of economic harm." Id. ¶ 9. In order to facilitate their illegal control of the carting industry, the cartel members corrupt public officials whose duties include the oversight of various aspects of the industry. Id. ¶ 15. And, in return for the power and the influence of the organized crime families, the members of the cartel "make periodic payments in cash" to the Lucchese Family and to the Gambino Family. Id. ¶ 13. Over time, the government contends, these activities have virtually eliminated ...
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