NEW YORK, June 2 -- A federal indictment says leaders of three Chinese fraternal and business organizations divided Chinatown into criminal fiefdoms and ran them much as the Mafia manages its turf. The New York Times Friday said law enforcement officials see the nine-count indictment of one of the men as the most complete accounting yet of how organized crime works in New York City's Chinatown. Charged Thursday with racketeering and murder is Kwok Fu Lai, 60, a Hong Kong native. He lives in Albany where he owns Jack's Restaurant, and is married with five children, including one who works as an assistant district attorney in Manhattan. Named, but not charged, were the late Benny Ong and Chan Wing Yeung, owner of Harmony restaurant in Chinatown and allegedly an official with the On Leong tong. He is considered in control of the Tung On Boys gang. Yeung is a native of Canton, China, who already faces federal murder charges. Ong, a native of Harbin, China, who was known as the 'Godfather of Chinatown,' died of cancer Aug. 6, 1994. He allegedly was the top official of the Hip Sing tong and ran the Flying Dragons gang. Ong was convicted of murder in 1935 served 17 years and was convicted of bribery in 1977, the Times said. Also, Brooklyn federal prosecutors announced the indictment of a Chinese-American New York City Police Officer, Detective Michael Lee. He was charged with aiding the gambling operations run by the Tung On gang and tipping them off to police investigations.
In return, the gang allegedly rewarded Lee with money, free vacations and even a cellular telephone and beeper so he could be accessible to gang members. In the earlier indictment, prosecutors said Lai, Yeung and Ong controlled violent street gangs and ran murder, gambling, and extortion operations in specific sections of lower Manhattan, much like the Mafia carves up territory. Prosecutors say the trio extorted money from nearly every business in Chinatown, charging as much as $100,000 for a restaurant to open. They also said the men mediated disputes among the gangs.
