This situation will certainly lead to a beef, one way or another.
Alleged Bonanno Crime Family member Mike “The Butcher” Virtuoso was arrested recently on extortion charges. But when the FBI raided his butcher shop, Graham Avenue Meats & Deli, in Williamsburg, they found a gold mine of information which was meticulously written down by Virtuoso.
Virtuoso kept the names and phone numbers of alleged organized crime figure in his Rolodex, and he didn’t even give them code names; he actually used their real names, including their street nicknames.
For instance, according to a report US Attorney Stephen Frank wrote to the presiding judge, “A slip of paper within one Rolodex contained the handwritten entry ‘Capo Lucchese’ and the names ‘Johnny Sideburns Cerello’ and ‘Glenn the Wheel” Guadagno. Both men are convicted felons associated with the Lucchese organized crime family, and John Cerrella, also known as ‘Johnny Sideburns,’ is a captain in that family. ”
According to the Feds, Virtuoso’s many Rolodex entries also included Anthony “Little Anthony” Pipitone, acting capo of the Bonanno family.
An anonymous source told The New York Post, “Putting all of that classified information into writing was an incredibly stupid thing for Virtuoso to do.’’
No spit, Sherlock.
Besides keeping the name of his pals in his Rolodex, Virtuoso also kept a ledger with notations; one for “groceries” and another for “cash,” with numerical amounts next to the names.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen Frank also said in court papers, “The page appears consistent with Virtuoso’s practice … of separately recording the victim’s grocery tab and the cash loans the victim obtained from Virtuoso.”
Brooklyn Federal Magistrate Judge Lois Bloom ordered Virtuoso held without bail because he is still on supervised release for a 2009 extortion conviction.
Maybe it’s just as well for Virtuoso to stay in the can. If Virtuoso hit the streets after his inexplicable actions, certain people whose names he used and abused in his Rolodex might want to discuss this situation with Virtuoso personally.
And that can never be a good thing.
The two article below can be seen at:
http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/brooklyn/the_meathead_mob_directory_M8DznOwDSB68kB34gY8pSK
and
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_crime/the_mob/2011/07/06/2011-07-06_the_meat_of_feds_case_butchers_a_loanshark.html
Meathead’s mob directory spills secrets
By MITCHEL MADDUX
Last Updated: 2:14 AM, October 11, 2011
Posted: 2:01 AM, October 11, 2011
More Print
EXCLUSIVE
He gives new meaning to the term “organized crime.’’
A bumbling Bonanno bad guy bizarrely listed all of his contacts — from capos to consiglieres — in a Rolodex, The Post has learned.
Not-so-wiseguy Mike “The Butcher” Virtuoso recorded every one of the names, numbers, nicknames and even mob titles in a file so complete that the FBI agents who stumbled on it felt like they’d discovered a gold mine.
Putting all of that classified information into writing “was an incredibly stupid thing [for Virtuoso] to do,’’ a source told The Post.
The treasure trove was discovered in “The Butcher’s’’ butcher shop, Graham Avenue Meats & Deli, in Williamsburg.
The meticulously detailed “Rolodexes” and “address books” listed contact information for “members and associates of organized crime,” according to the feds.
He didn’t even bother to code or otherwise try to disguise his entries.
“For example, a slip of paper within one Rolodex contained the handwritten entry ‘Capo Lucchese’ and the names ‘Johnny Sideburns Cerello’ and ‘Glenn the Wheel Guadagno,’ ” Assistant US Attorney Stephen Frank wrote to a judge.
“Both men are convicted felons associated with the Lucchese organized crime family, and John Cerrella, also known as ‘Johnny Sideburns,’ is a captain in that family,” Frank wrote.
Now the feds plan to use the Rolodexes and address books to prove that Virtuoso is an ex-con with the kind of mobbed-up friends who make him a serious danger to the community.
They want Judge Sandra Townes to deny the butcher’s bail request and keep him jailed as he awaits trial on extortion charges for allegedly threatening several debtors. A bail hearing is scheduled for today.
Virtuoso’s phone lists comprise a “Who’s Who” of the sort of guys you don’t want to meet in a dark alley, the feds suggest.
His many entries include Anthony “Little Anthony” Pipitone, acting capo of the Bonanno family, feds say.
There also is an entry for Pipitone’s brother, Vito, a Bonanno associate, and for “Vito Adamo,” which lists the phone number for Vito Badamo, a made member of the family, prosecutors say.
Among the numbers scrawled in the Rolodex are several for Angelo Speciale, who was convicted in Italy of group sexual assault and armed robbery, the feds say.
Virtuoso also dabbled in something akin to “Mafia scrapbooking,” the feds say.
FBI agents found newspaper clippings in his shop about cases involving a variety of mobsters, including articles on the conviction of Bonanno boss Vincent “Vinny Gorgeous” Basciano and another about acting boss Sal “The Iron Worker” Montagna, prosecutors say.
Virtuoso’s lawyer maintains that his client has an “impeccable work history” and has never admitted being a mobster.
The feds disagree and plan to argue that these contacts demonstrate that Virtuoso is actively involved in the day-to-day operations of the New York mob.
Virtuoso was more circumspect in his phone chats, talking to Speciale in Italian in one conversation recorded by the feds.
“I’m telling you, let’s not talk about these things,” Virtuoso said in the call. “When you come here, then we’ll talk about them. Understand?”
Bonanno mobster nabbed: FBI busts deli owner ‘Mike the Butcher’ Virtuoso on extortion charges
A Bonanno gangster who owns a Brooklyn butcher shop apparently had a hard time keeping the loin of beef separate from loanshark beefs.
The FBI busted Michael (Mike the Butcher) Virtuoso early Tuesday on extortion charges linked to his Graham Ave. Meats & Deli in Williamsburg – which has a sandwich called “The Godfather” on the menu.
Agents seized $24,000 in cash and a ledger book with notations – one for “groceries” and another for “cash,” with numerical amounts next to the names of victims, the federal complaint says.
“The page appears consistent with Virtuoso’s practice … of separately recording the victim’s grocery tab and the cash loans the victim obtained from Virtuoso,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen Frank said in court papers.
Virtuoso also met with at least one victim in the walk-in freezer of the butcher shop to collect loanshark payments and threatened others in wiretapped calls.
Brooklyn Federal Magistrate Judge Lois Bloom ordered Virtuoso held without bail because he is still on supervised release for a 2009 extortion conviction.
Virtuoso allegedly resumed collecting loanshark payments as soon as he was sprung from prison, including money from deadbeats who stopped paying while he was doing time.
jmarzulli@nydailynews.com
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