Fourteen members of the notorious Colombo crime family were arrested over racketeering and extortion charges last week. The arrests include heads of the family, Andrew “Mush” Russo, 87, and underboss Benjamin” Benji” Castellazzo, 83. Other ranking members of the family were also arrested, including captains and associates who kept the mob’s activities alive and well throughout New York.

While 13 of the named defendants were arrested on the previous Tuesday, last Friday, 66-year-old Ralph DiMatteo turned himself in to the FBI in New York City after his son tweeted a picture of him poolside in Florida. The senior DiMatteo is facing allegations that he is behind devising a scheme to help launder money from the labor union's health program. Many members including DiMatteo and Benjamin Castellazzo have pleaded guilty.

The arrest comes after authorities allege that the Colombo family tried to take over a construction union and its affiliate-based healthcare benefits program for personal gain. The DOJ shares that among other charges, the defendants sought to funnel $10,000 a month out of the health fund and into the administration of the Colombo family.

The notorious Colombo crime family is described as the youngest of the original “five families” that established the world of organized crime in New York. The families include the Genovese, Lucchese, Gambino and Bonanno families. Along with the takedown of members of the Colombo family, one soldier of the Bonanno family was also arrested on charges of fraud, drug trafficking, and loansharking.

Details outline that the family attempted to intimidate union officials by threatening violence. On one account, authorities explain that since 2001, the Colombo family captain Vincent Ricciardo, 75, and his cousin Domenick Ricciardo, 56, have gone as far as extorting a senior official of the union group. The Ricciardo cousins have collected a portion of the senior official’s salary, threatening him and his family with bodily harm if he did not comply.

Authorities share a consensual record conversation that took place on Jun 21, 2021. In the conversation, Vincent “Ricky” Ricciardo can be heard saying “I’ll put him in the ground right now in front of his wife and kids, right in front of his f----g house, you laugh all you want pal, I’m not afraid to go to jail, let me tell you something, to prove a point.” Ricciardo adds, “I would f----g shoot him right in front of his wife and kids, call the police, f--k it, let me go, how long you think I’m gonna last anyway?”

Other accusations in line with the racketeering charges include extorting the health care fund in order to use it to launder money through third-party sources.

After the high-profile arrests, FBI assistant director-in-charge Michael Driscoll shared, “Everything we allege in this investigation proves history does indeed repeat itself. The underbelly of the crime families in New York City is alive and well.”

This latest sweep of members of the Colombo family has left a void for another member to take over. In 2012, the entire Colombo family administration had pleaded guilty to an array of organized crime activities.

“These soldiers, consiglieres, underbosses, and bosses are obviously not students of history and don't seem to comprehend that we're going to catch them. Regardless of how many times they fill the void we create in their ranks, our FBI Organized Crime Task Force, and our law enforcement partners, are positioned to take them out again, and again.” Shared Driscoll.