Alleged Genovese mob boss busted

  Eyewitness News

(New Jersey - WABC, May 30, 2007) (WABC) -- The reputed acting boss of the Genovese crime family, who like his legendary mentor keeps a low profile, was busted Wednesday morning at his Rockleigh, New Jersey, home, authorities said.

Officials say 65-year-old Danny Leo was arraigned on extortion charges this morning in federal court in Lower Manhattan.

They say he was pulled out of his $2 million, one-acre Rockleigh home by FBI agents and NYPD officers.

Authorities say Leo recently took the reigns of the family once headed by legendary Mafia boss Vincent "Chin" Gigante, and federal law enforcement officials said he has adopted many of his low-profile ways.

Police say Leo's only known arrest was in 1980, when he was charged with criminal contempt for refusing to testify before a grand jury that was investigating loansharking, drug trafficking, and four murders, two in East Harlem and two in the Bronx.

During the 1970s, officials say he was a member of the Purple Gang, a loosely connected group of 127 drug dealers that includes dozens of gangsters from East Harlem and the Bronx who became Luchese and Genovese family mobsters, including Leo.

The original 20-member East Harlem gang included several current Genovese mobsters, including capo Angelo Prisco, authorities said.

Experts say the Genovese crime family, although weakened, is still active in criminal activities such as construction and labor racketeering, illegal gambling and loan sharking.

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