The sun may shine bright in Florida, but these mobsters aren’t going to be around to enjoy it.
By CURT ANDERSONAP Legal Affairs Writer FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — One by one, members of a South Florida crew of the New York-based Bonanno crime family stood before a federal judge Wednesday to plead guilty to racketeering charges, including one enforcer who said it was impossible to escape the Mafia life.
Six of the 11 purported crew members indicted in May pleaded guilty to charges that carry a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. All 11 are charged under the federal Racketeering Influenced and Corrupt Organizations, or RICO law, which the FBI has used frequently to break up major criminal enterprises.
The enforcer, 43-year-old Pasquale Rubbo, told U.S. District Judge William Zloch that he’d already done prison time for his underworld ties and that he had some debts to pay after his release a few years ago