Fifteen alleged members of a crime family based in Philadelphia face federal racketeering and related charges, prosecutors said.
A superseding indictment revealed on Monday that the fifteen alleged crime associates of the crime family La Cosa Nostra were accused of racketeering conspiracy, illegal gambling, loansharking, and drug trafficking, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Philadelphia.
Among the 15 defendants are 60-year-old Joseph Servidio, or “Joey Electric,” and Anthony Gifoli, 73 — better known as “Tony Meatballs.”
According to the indictment, the criminal organization made money through the commission of its alleged crimes and used its “reputation and influence to exercise control over criminal rackets, like book making and loansharking.”
Federal prosecutors allege the crime family mainly operated beginning in August 2015 in Philadelphia and southern Jersey, particularly in Atlantic City.
Ten of the defendants were charged with allegedly conspiring to conduct and participate in activities related to the mob, according to court papers. The remaining five were charged with other offenses, including conspiracy to extort money and distribute controlled substances, the indictment said.
William McSwain, U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Philadelphia, said the mob "isn't what it used to be, and thank God for that," but it remains a “problem.”
The Philadelphia mob is “still allegedly committing serious federal crimes, which is why we at the Department of Justice are focused on stamping it out,” McSwain said in a statement. “We will not rest until the mob is nothing but a bad memory.”
The case is being handled by the FBI, the Philadelphia Police Department, the Pennsylvania State Police, and the Pennsylvania Office of the Attorney General.
