NEW YORK, Feb. 17 (UPI) -- Four members of the Gambino organized crime family pleaded guilty in New York Friday to charges including racketeering and assault, the Justice Department said.
Alphonse Trucchio, Michael Roccaforte, Anthony Moscatiello and Christopher Colon -- a captain, two soldiers and an associate of the Gambino Organized Crime Family of La Cosa Nostra -- pleaded guilty to racketeering, narcotics trafficking, assault, extortion and other crimes, U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said in a release.
The charges, filed in November 2011, stem from "a scheme to recruit illegal immigrants to work in adult entertainment clubs controlled by La Cosa Nostra," the department said.
Trucchio and Colon pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Richard M. Berman while Roccaforte and Moscatiello pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Gabriel W. Gorenstein.
"For those who believe La Cosa Nostra's criminal activities and influence are on the decline, the sweeping charges in this case and today's guilty pleas should disabuse them of that notion," Bharara said. "They should also make clear that this office is as committed as ever to rooting out the dangerous and deadly presence of organized crime."
The four family members face a maximum sentence of life in prison and are scheduled to be sentenced in May or June.
