ORGANIZED CRIME FIGURE CARMINE AGNELLO SENTENCED TO NINE YEAR PRISON TERM: ALSO MUST FORFEIT $10 MILLION, PAY $950,000 IN RESTITUTION AND $150,000 IN BACK TAXES FOR RACKETEERING, EXTORTION, ARSON AND INCOME TAX FRAUD IN MAJOR SCRAP METAL AND AUTO SALVAGE CASE

United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York Alan Vinegrad, Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown, New York City Police Commissioner Bernard B. Kerik, Assistant Director-in-Charge of the New York Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation Barry W. Mawn and Special Agent-in-Charge of the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigations in New York Paul L. Machalek today announced that Organized Crime figure Carmine Agnello was sentenced in federal court before U.S. Magistrate Nina M. Gershon on charges stemming from racketeering, extortion, arson, vehicle identification number (VIN) obliteration and income tax fraud.

As part of a plea agreement in August, Agnello, 40, of 161-12 134^th Street, Howard Beach, was sentenced to nine years in prison in addition to having to forfeit $10 million to the United States, pay $950,000 in restitution to his crime victims and pay $150,000 in back taxes to the Internal Revenue Service. He has also been barred for life from participating in the scrap metal industry.

"Last month’s guilty pleas of Carmine Agnello and his associates and today’s sentencing of Agnello represent a significant victory for both the law enforcement community and the consuming public," said District Attorney Brown. "Thanks to the diligent and cooperative efforts of the agencies involved, Carmine Agnello will no longer be able to victimize those who refuse to do business with them. He is now barred for life from ever re-entering the scrap metal business which he and his associates controlled through violence and intimidation and through which they were able to facilitate illicit auto theft and insurance fraud."

"This sentence represents a resounding victory for law enforcement in this case," said U.S. Attorney Vinegrad. "Federal and state law enforcement agencies, working cooperatively, have dealt a powerful blow to the Mafia’s infiltration of the local scrap metal industry. In addition to facing a substantial prison term and forfeiting enormous sums to the United States, Carmine Agnello will be barred from the scrap metal industry for life, ending his ability to terrorize the industry and those people who make legitimate livings in it. The use of violence and intimidation by gangsters to gain competitive advantage in business will not be tolerated. With this prosecution, Carmine Agnello has been relegated to the scrap heap of organized crime."

The District Attorney’s investigation began with wiretaps of Carmine Agnello’s cellular phone and ended with Agnello’s arrest in January 2000, following an NYPD Auto Crime Division sting operation known as Stadium Scrap. The undercover investigation revealed that Agnello and his crew were operating a racketeering enterprise that dominated the scrap metal industry in Willets Point, Queens by engaging in crimes ranging from arson, extortion and threats directed to competitors and the undercover police officers, to vehicle related crimes.

Agnello and his crew used fear, violence and arson in an attempt to control the scrap metal industry. They were able to vertically integrate the market through a number of Agnello’s auto parts related businesses which would take parts from stolen and insurance fraud cars.

Agnello and defendant Steven Scala also owned a number of glass related business which would re-sell the glass from these illicit vehicles. The remains of these vehicles would then be brought to one of a number of crushers owned and controlled by Agnello which would crush the remains of the vehicle thereby obliterating the Vehicle Identification Number and destroying the evidence of the illicit vehicle. Finally Agnello and his crew were able to open and operate a metal shredding business, New York Shredding Corporation, which would shred the crushed remains of these vehicles and sell the shredded metal to be recycled.

In April 1999, Stadium Scrap -- an undercover scrap metal crushing business -- run by the New York City Police Department’s Auto Crime Division with the assistance of the Queens County District Attorney’s Office -- opened in the Willets Point section of Queens. Less than one month after opening for business, on May 20, 1999, Agnello and defendant Joseph "Jumbo" Burger approached one of the undercover officers threatening him to either do business with Agnello and bring them their crushed vehicles or face the consequences and be shut down.

When the undercover officers at Stadium Scrap did not cave into Agnello’s demand, Agnello hired an arsonist to burn down the location and put his competition out of business. The arsonist however, was caught by police officers before he could start that fire. Once arrested, the arsonist cooperated with authorities and subsequently recorded Agnello directing the torching of Stadium Scrap. As part of the undercover operation and after two controlled fires, Stadium Scrap agreed to do business with Agnello.

The undercover operation also revealed that both Scala and Agnello, now controlling most of the auto salvage industry in the area, were setting prices and thereby controlling the market.

Following the January 2000 indictments of Agnello and his associates filed by Queens District Attorney Brown’s Office, working together with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Internal Revenue Service and the New York City Police Department, assisted the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York in putting a case together which charged Agnello, Scala, Burger, Lomonaco, Debra DeCarlo, Michael Agnello, John Sowulski and New York Shredding Corporation in the United States District Court, Eastern District of New York in a forty-six (46) count RICO indictment, ending for these defendants after Lat week’s guilty pleas.

The case, initiated by the Queens District Attorney’s Office and the Queens District Attorney’s Squad who investigated Agnello’s activities, later merged with a federal case.

Assistant District Attorney Gregory C. Pavlides was designated as a Special Assistant United States Attorney to assist in the prosecution of the case. Mr. Pavlides, who is from the District Attorney’s Narcotics Investigation Bureau, worked closely with the District Attorney’s Detective Bureau throughout the investigation. Also involved in the investigation from the District Attorney’s Office were Executive Assistant District Attorney for Investigations Peter A. Crusco; Assistant District Attorneys Gerard A. Brave, Marc P. Resnick and Peri A. Kadanoff of the Organized Crime and Rackets Bureau; Assistant District Attorney and Counsel to the Investigations Division Linda M. Cantoni; Assistant District Attorneys Anthony M. Communiello and David S. Zadnoff of the Civil Enforcement Bureau; Assistant District Attorney Brian Mich of the Economic Crimes Bureau and Robert D. Alexander of the Computer & Advanced Technology Crimes Bureau.