WCNYH

DECAVALCANTE CRIME FAMILY ASSOCIATE GETS SIX YEARS IN PRISON FOR COCAINE DISTRIBUTION, PLANNING A PROSTITUTION BUSINESS

January 5, 2016

           An associate of the DeCavalcante crime family of La Cosa Nostra was sentenced today to 72 months in prison for selling 1,915 grams of cocaine, planning a prostitution operation and possessing a 12-gauge shotgun as a convicted felon, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.

           Anthony Stango, 34, of Brick, New Jersey, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge William H. Walls to an information charging him with conspiracy to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine, use of the telephone in interstate commerce to promote a prostitution operation and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. Judge Walls imposed the sentence today in Newark federal court.

           According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court: Stango was arrested March 12, 2015, as part of a sweep of 10 members of the DeCavalcante crime family, which operated in New Jersey and elsewhere. The crime family engaged in numerous offenses, including fraud, distribution of controlled substances, prostitution, gambling, the sale of stolen and contraband goods, murder, assault, extortion, and other crimes of violence.

           Stango admitted conducting a drug operation that, on eight separate occasions from December 2014 to March 2015, sold a total of 1,915 grams of cocaine to an undercover law enforcement officer. During that same time period, Stango worked to set up a prostitution operation in New Jersey. Recorded conversations reflected discussions he had with a conspirator (identified as “CS”) who at the time was living in Nevada. Stango advised CS that he had already talked to one or more prostitutes about the details of the operation, their fees and the conditions under which the women would be providing services. Stango also admitted possessing an H&R Pardner 12-gauge pump action shotgun while being a convicted felon. In addition to the prison term, Judge Walls sentenced Stango to serve five years of supervised release.

           U.S. Attorney Fishman credited the members of the FBI’s Organized Crime Task Force under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Richard M. Frankel in Newark; the Waterfront Commission of New York Harbor, under the direction of Executive Director Walter M. Arsenault; the Bayonne Police Department, under the direction of Chief Drew Niekrasz; and the N.J. State Commission of Investigation, under the direction of Acting Executive Director Lee C. Seglem, with the investigation leading to today’s sentencing. He also thanked the FBI’s Las Vegas office and the Union County Prosecutor’s Office for their roles in the investigation.

           The government is represented by Senior Litigation Counsel V. Grady O’Malley and Assistant U.S. Attorney James Donnelly of the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Organized Crime/Gangs Unit.