MICHAEL J. GARCIA, the United States Attorney for the
Southern District of New York, announced that two defendants —
one soldier and one capo of the Genovese Organized Crime Family –
– pleaded guilty today in Manhattan federal court, before United
States Magistrate Judge HENRY PITMAN, to conspiracy to commit
murder and extortion, respectively.
According documents filed in
Manhattan federal court and the defendant’s plea proceedings:
PASQUALE DELUCA, a/k/a “Scop,” a soldier in the
Genovese Organized Crime Family (“Genovese Crime Family”),
pleaded guilty to an Information which charged him with
conspiring to murder RALPH COPPOLA. In September of 1998, the
then-Acting Boss of the Genovese Crime Family, FRANK SERPICO,
a/k/a “Farby,” authorized the murder of RALPH COPPOLA, a Soldier
in the Genovese Crime Family, with the consent of other leaders
of the Family. Later the same month, at Serpico’s instruction,
DELUCA met with Ralph COPPOLA in the Bronx, New York. Following
that meeting, COPPOLA was murdered by members and associates of
the Genovese Crime Family.
During his guilty plea allocution, DELUCA admitted
belonging to the criminal enterprise described in the
Information, namely the Genovese Crime Family, and that he helped
to arrange a meeting in the Bronx between another participant in
the conspiracy and COPPOLA, after which COPPOLA was killed.
ARTHUR NIGRO, a capo in the Genovese Crime Family,
pleaded guilty to an Information charging him with extortion.
NIGRO and others used threats of violence and economic harm in an
attempt to force the victim to rent a particular commercial
property to NIGRO and others at a below-market price.
