James (Jimmy) LaForte – a strong arm of the Gambino crime family – pleads guilty to racketeering conspiracy, extortion/extortion conspiracy under the Hobbs Act, retaliation against witnesses and being a felon in possession of a firearm. He entered the plea in Brooklyn federal court last Wednesday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Joseph A. Marutollo.
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| James LaForte. |
The U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District charged LaForte, who has the rank of private, and nine other Gambino crooks and associates with using violent extortion, fraud, theft and embezzlement to infiltrate New York's carting and demolition industries.
“These ten Gambino members and associates orchestrated a campaign of violent assaults and property destruction to collect debts and intimidate employees of competing businesses. » said FBI Deputy Director James C. Barnacle, Jr.. “Their collective actions have terrorized New York residents and businesses in order to generate an illegal revenue stream. »
LaForte, 49, who is currently serving time in another case in Philadelphia also involving his older brother Joseph, is the last of the 10 defendants. charged in 2023 indictment plead guilty or lose at trial.
The remaining Gambino members and associates in the Brooklyn carting and wrecking case pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy before U.S. District Judge Frederic Block on October 17, 2025. Those defendants included Gambino capo Joseph (Joe Brooklyn) Lanni, a member of the ruling Sicilian faction of the Gambino family who inherited part of the rackets from underboss Frank Cali after Cali was senselessly murdered in 2019.
LaForte also pleaded guilty in the Philadelphia case involving his brother. In September 2024, Jimmy LaForte was charged with racketeering conspiracy, securities fraud, and exorbitant debt collection, as well as obstruction of justice, for a violent assault he committed against a Philadelphia-based attorney. Jimmy LaForte was sentenced to 11.5 years in March 2025 for this case, which centers on crimes committed as part of a criminal enterprise that ran a fraudulent lending operation known as Par Funding. Jimmy's brother, Joseph LaForte, was founder/president of the entity.
In the Brooklyn case, according to court documents, in 2020 and 2021, LaForte extorted a person who owed money to a LaForte associate (John Doe 5). After failing to pay LaForte's associate on time, John Doe 5 was introduced to LaForte, who asked John Doe 5 to arrange an illegal poker game and craps game for LaForte. When John Doe 5 asked LaForte after the craps game for John Doe 5's share of the winnings from running the game, LaForte punched John Doe 5 in the face, causing John Doe 5 to fall backwards and giving him a black eye. LaForte then contacted John Doe 5's father to force John Doe 5 to pay what LaForte said was John Doe 5's debt. In text messages exchanged in November 2020, shortly after John Doe 5's loan, the person who loaned John Doe 5 the money wrote that “(his other punk (John Doe 5) is playing games” and “might go up to his house on Saturday with one of my guys from here.” Another party to the conversation replied, “I took him to see Jimmy made that clear” and later added, “We'll get him. He's scared to death of Jimmy.”
On February 17, 2021, LaForte and Vincent (Vinny Slick) Minsquero assaulted an individual who they believed had previously provided information to law enforcement about organized crime members and associates (John Doe 6). That evening, LaForte and Minsquero approached John Doe 6 at a restaurant. LaForte called John Doe 6 a “rat” and hit John Doe 6 in the face with a bottle. LaForte and Minsquero also overturned John Doe 6's table, sending drinks and broken glasses everywhere.
All defendants who pleaded guilty or went to trial in EDNY Case No. 23-CR-443 (FB):
JAMES LAFORTE (also known as “Jimmy”)
Age: 49 years old
New York, New York
JOSEPH LANNI (also known as “Joe Brooklyn” and “Mommino”)
Age: 54 years old
Staten Island, New York
DIEGO TANTILLO (also known as “Danny” and “Daniel”)
Age: 50 years old
Freehold, New Jersey
ROBERT BROOK
Age: 58 years old
New York, New York
SALVATORE DILORENZO
Age: 69 years old
Oceanside, New York
ANGELO GRADILONE (also known as “Fifi”)
Age: 59 years old
Staten Island, New York
KYLE JOHNSON (also known as “Twin”)
Age: 48 years old
Bronx, New York
VINCENT MINSQUERO (also known as “Vinny Slick”)
Age: 39 years old
Staten Island, New York
VITO RAPPA (also known as “Vi”)
Age: 58 years old
East Brunswick, New Jersey
FRANCESCO VICARI (also known as “Frank” and “Uncle Ciccio”)
Age: 65 years old
Elmont, New York
As for the other crimes charged in this case:
Extortion linked to the carting and demolition industries
Tantillo, Rappa, Vicari, and Johnson engaged in a violent extortion plot related to the demand and receipt of money from an individual (John Doe 1) who operated a go-kart business in the New York area. The extortion scheme involved threatening John Doe 1 with a bat, setting fire to the steps of John Doe 1's residence, attempting to damage John Doe 1's trucks, and violently assaulting an associate of John Doe 1. After John Doe 1 ultimately made a $4,000 payment to Vicari, Vicari and Rappa met and sent Tantillo a photo of Vicari lifting a small bottle of champagne, as in a toast.
As Brooke's trial proved, in the fall of 2019, Brooke engaged in a violent extortion scheme against the owners of a demolition company (John Does 2-4) over alleged debts owed to Tantillo and a company with which Tantillo and Brooke had cooperated. On December 18, 2019, one of the victims was walking to work when she was ambushed and attacked by Brooke at 50th Street and Eighth Avenue in midtown Manhattan. The victim suffered a fractured cheekbone, a black eye and facial bruising. In the weeks following the beating, Tantillo contacted the victims who are brothers and told them to pay Brooke and drop the criminal charges against Brooke. Fearing for their safety and that of their employees, the owners of the demolition company paid $50,000 to Tantillo and $40,000 to the company with which Tantillo and Brooke had cooperated.
Union-related fraud and crime in the haulage and demolition sectors
Various defendants also committed a series of crimes aimed at stealing and embezzling funds from unions and employee benefit plans, as well as bid rigging in the demolition and carting industries. Under one such scheme, DiLorenzo provided Rappa with no-show work at DiLorenzo's demolition company so that Rappa could receive union paychecks and health benefits, among other benefits. Likewise, Tantillo arranged for Gradilone to receive a “no-show” job at a construction company with which Tantillo was associated, which allowed Gradilone to receive paychecks and union health benefits to which he was not entitled. Tantillo and Johnson also conspired to get Johnson a “no-show” job, so that Johnson could also receive union health benefits.
