Three Former Longshoremen Plead Guilty to Extortion of ILA Members at Port of N.Y./N.J.
Three former longshoremen pleaded guilty May 21 to extorting “Christmastime tributes” from their fellow members of the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) in New Jersey, said the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey. Salvatore LaGrasso, Michael Nicolosi, and Julio Porrao admitted that they compelled the payments from ILA union members by using actual and threatened force, violence and fear, said the attorney’s office. The timing of the extortions typically coincided with the receipt by certain ILA members of Container Royalty Fund checks, it said.
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Charges are still pending against five other defendants in the case, including a racketeering charge against Stephen Depiro, a soldier in the Genovese organized crime family of La Cosa Nostra, said the attorney’s office. Since at least 2005, Depiro has managed the Genovese family’s control over the New Jersey waterfront, including the nearly three-decades-long extortion of port workers in ILA Local 1, ILA Local 1235 and ILA Local 1478, it said. Members of the Genovese family, including Depiro, are charged with conspiring to collect tribute payments from New Jersey port workers around Christmas each year through their corrupt influence over union officials, including the last three presidents of Local 1235, said the attorney’s office.
LaGrasso and Nicolosi were suspended from their positions following their arrests in this case, and Porrao had already retired. Each faces 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. They are scheduled for sentencing in September.