FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., Feb. 4 (UPI) -- Fort Lauderdale, Fla., authorities say the arrests of 23 people with suspected mob ties including a Bonanno family capo are "only the beginning."
Gerrard Chilli, 70, and the other 22 were charged with loan sharking, stock market scams, offshore sports betting and distributing narcotics, The Miami Herald said Friday.
What tripped them up was the theft of more than $300,000 worth of veal, liquor and salmon they tried to sell to undercover Broward County sheriff's officers, officials said.
The frozen salmon from Chile and the North Atlantic was stolen in Dania Beach, they said.
Sheriff Ken Jenne said the arrests "penetrated the heart of the mob in Broward County, and I will tell you, it is only the beginning."
Detectives named the investigation "Operation Cold Water" because of Chilli's name and the location of his home near the ocean.
