Rhode Island Man Admits to Being an Associate of the New England La Cosa Nostra, Participation in Hobbs Act Extortion Conspiracy

Albino Folcarelli is Seventh Defendant to Plead Guilty in Ongoing Investigation into Alleged Extortion of Protection Payments from Rhode Island Businesses and Individuals by Organized Crime

PROVIDENCE, RI—Albino “Albie” Folcarelli, 53, of Johnston, Rhode Island, admitted today to being an associate of the New England La Cosa Nostra (NELCN) and to participating in an extortion conspiracy to extort $25,000 from a Rhode Island individual by using implied threats of violence, including visits to the individual’s place of employment and home. Folcarelli pleaded guilty to one count of Hobbs Act extortion, and faces up to 20 years’ imprisonment when he is sentenced on July 26, 2012 by U.S. District Court Judge William E. Smith.

Folcarelli admitted to participating in an extortion conspiracy with another admitted associate of the criminal enterprise, Raymond R. “Scarface” Jenkins, 47, of Providence, Rhode Island. Jenkins pleaded guilty on February 23, 2012, to one count of Hobbs Act extortion. He is scheduled to be sentenced on May 11, 2012.

Folcarelli’s guilty plea was announced by Peter F. Neronha, United States Attorney for the District of Rhode Island; Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; Richard Deslauriers, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Boston Field Office; Colonel Steven G. O’Donnell, Superintendent of the Rhode Island State Police; and Providence Public Safety Commissioner Steven M. Pare.

Folcarelli and Jenkins are among eight Rhode Island men named in a second superseding indictment returned September 22, 2011, for crimes involving racketeering and extortion. Admitted NELCN crime boss Luigi “Louie” Manocchio; Edward “Eddy” Lato, an admitted NELCN leader; admitted NELCN member Alfred “Chippy” Scivola; and admitted NELCN associates Thomas Iafrate and Richard Bonifiglia have pleaded guilty to participating in the racketeering extortion conspiracy which allegedly extorted protection payments from several adult entertainment businesses in Rhode Island during the past two decades. Iafrate was sentenced on December 12, 2011, to 30 months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release. The remaining defendants are awaiting sentencing.

An eighth defendant named in the second superseding indictment, Theodore Cardillo, pleaded not guilty to three counts each of RICO conspiracy and extortion conspiracy. He is detained while awaiting trial.

A third superseding indictment was returned in this matter on April 24, 2012, which charges Anthony L. Dinunzio, 53, of East Boston, Mass., the alleged acting leader of the NELCN, with one count each of racketeering and extortion, and five counts of travel in aid of racketeering. A not guilty plea was entered on April 25, 2012. Dinunzio is ordered detained while awaiting trial.

An indictment is merely an allegation and is not evidence of guilt. A defendant is entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

The cases are being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney William J. Ferland for the District of Rhode Island and Trial Attorney Sam Nazzaro of the Criminal Division’s Organized Crime and Gang Section.

The matter is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Rhode Island State Police, and the Providence Police Department.