Wednesday, July 12, 2017

Lucchese Crime Family under Siege


Matthew Madonna, street boss of the Lucchese crime family
The leaders of the Lucchese Family, as well as captains, soldiers and associates, 19 in all, were charged with racketeering, murder, narcotics and firearms offenses in late May. The indictment builds on charges against soldier Christopher Londonio and associate Terrence Caldwell. They were charged in February 2017 with racketeering, including the murder of Michael Meldish, a hitman who was killed in 2013.

Christopher Londonio
The indictment charges Matthew Madonna, street boss of the Lucchese Family, Steven Crea Sr., underboss, and Steven Crea Jr., Londonio’s captain in the Family, with ordering the murder of Meldish. Meldish's death was met with celebration from police, who called him a 'stone-cold killer,' believing him to have carried out at least 10 murders on the orders of the Mafia throughout the 1970s and 1980s.

Meldish was the co-leader of The Purple Gang - and controlled drug trade in the Bronx and Harlem during the 1970s and 1980s. The gang was known for killing and dismembering their victims.

Bronx-Lebanon Hospital CEO Miguel Fuentes, 67, received oversize incentive and retirement payouts. He took home $4.8 million in 2008, including $2.7 million in “other compensation.” In 2015, his total compensation came to $1.7 million
It’s New York’s sickest hospital. The Bronx-Lebanon Hospital describes itself as "the largest voluntary, not-for-profit health care system serving the South and Central Bronx".

Bronx-Lebanon’s new nine-story outpatient treatment center houses the hospital’s clinics. Work on the $42 million annex began in 2009 and was mostly financed through the sale of taxpayer-backed bonds. Construction costs were padded, with cash ending up in the pockets of the Lucchese crime family and hospital executives. Lucchese crime family members face charges of wire and mail fraud linked to “a major New York City hospital”.