By Bill Parry
A popular Italian restaurant in Corona, known for its charming dining room and backyard piazza, was allegedly a front for a cocaine trafficking ring that spanned three continents, according to a six-count indictment that was unsealed in Brooklyn federal court last week.
Husband-and-wife owners Gregorio and Eleonora Gigliotti, their son Angelo Gigliotti, and a relative who is an Italian citizen, were all charged with conspiracy to import cocaine, conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine, importation of cocaine, and attempted possession of cocaine, federal officials announced May 7.
This might explain why during a 2014 TimesLedger interview promoting his restaurant’s World Cup coverage, Gregorio Gigliotti did not want to be photographed.
In addition, the Gigliotti defendants were charged with unlawful use and possession of firearms. The charges arise from the defendants’ alleged participation in an international narcotics-trafficking operation between July 1, 2014 and March 11, 2015, according to the feds.
Cucino a Modo Mio, at 51-01 108th St., has been shuttered since the Gigliotti defendants were arrested March 11. They remain in custody in the United States and have also been charged with narcotics-trafficking offenses by the Italian authorities, the indictment said.
“This case is a powerful example of the impact of international cooperation in combatting criminal organizations whose activities transcend national borders,” Acting U.S. Attorney Kelly Currie said, extending appreciation to Homeland Security Investigations, the FBI and several law enforcement investigators in Italy, where 16 others were charged for their participation in the activities being investigated.
“The arrests in New York and Italy dismantle a global network of alleged drug smugglers believed responsible for importing more than 50 kilograms of cocaine into the U.S.,” Special Agent in Charge Raymond Parmer said. “This investigation is another example of the collective efforts of our federal and international law enforcement partners to bring down those responsible for the proliferation of illegal drugs in our communities, no matter where in the world they hide.”
As alleged, Gregorio and Eleonora Gigliotti owned and operated several businesses in New York City that were used to facilitate their narcotics-trafficking operation, including the pizzeria in Corona and Fresh Farms Export Corp. in the Bronx, where the drugs were bagged for transport across Europe, according to the FBI. In October 2014, law enforcement intercepted a shipment of cassava that was shipped to the United States from Costa Rica. The shipment was found to contain 40 kilograms of cocaine inside the cardboard boxes. Eleonora Gigliotti allegedly traveled to Costa Rica with nearly $400,000 in cash that she delivered to the sources of supply, the FBI said.
In December 2014, law enforcement intercepted a second shipment of cassava bound for Fresh Farms Export Corp. that had also been shipped from Costa Rica and seized 15 kilograms of cocaine inside the cardboard boxes. The street value of the two cocaine shipments was $2 million, according to court papers.
After the arrest of the Gigliotti defendants March 11, law enforcement searched Cucino a Modo Mio and the Gigliotti home where they discovered six pistols, a rifle, ammunition, brass knuckles, other weapons and $100,000 in cash, according to law enforcement.
“Using the family’s business in New York as a front for a narcotics-trafficking operation, the defendants, as alleged, sought to establish a global cocaine ring, ” FBI Assistant Director in Charge Diego Rodriguez said. “We also used a global team to take on this case, working closely with our partners in Italy.”
If convicted, the Gigliotti defendants face a potential mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years imprisonment.
Reach reporter Bill Parry by e-mail at bparr
