By Mark Hallum
The nephew of reputed crime boss Vincent Asaro has been indicted in Brooklyn federal court, authorities said.
Ronald Giallanzo, 46, faces charges of racketeering and extortion, as well as attempted murder, spanning 20 years in the Howard Beach area alongside a crew of nine others, according to the U.S. attorney’s office in Brooklyn.
Giallanzo is a member of the Bonanno crime family, of La Cosa Nostra, and has held the rank of captain since Jerome Asaro, his first cousin, was arrested in 2014, according to the criminal complaint.
“During this time [20 years], Giallanzo has amassed massive wealth through the crime family’s illegitimate activities. Giallanzo’s rise to fortune and power began in the early 2000s with his participation in numerous stock fraud schemes,” the complaint said. “ Using these illegal proceeds, Giallazno built a loansharking business in which he had over$3 million loaned ‘on the street’–and which he used repeated threats and acts of violence to collect.”
Prosecutors also alleged Giallanzo had terrorized the neighborhood of Howard Beach. While on pre-trial release from his earlier stint in jail on similar charges, Giallanzo and his crew hunted a man from the neighborhood which resulted in at least four firefights in the south Queens community within a three-month period, they said.
His Howard Beach home was purchased as a humble property with a modest structure. But the structure he put in its place would stand as a symbol of his criminal prowess over the neighborhood, according to photos and statements provided by the court.
“Through these loan-sharking proceeds, as well as his illegal gambling business and other ventures, Giallanzo was able to spend millions of dollars to purchase, construct and design a Howard Beach mansion–a gargantuan home located at 164-04 86th St. in Queens, New York, which is a daily visual reminder to those in his neighborhood of his wealth and power,” the complaint said.
Asaro, 82, is currently facing an indictment in the same court for allegedly torching the car of a man who cut him off in traffic. The 23-year-old grandson and namesake of John Gotti was indicted alongside Asaro after being sentenced to eight years on drug dealing charges earlier this month.
Gotti, whose infamous grandfather John headed the Gambino family, is estimated by Queens District Attorney Richard Brown to have had an average income of $1.6 million a year while peddling oxycodone and other prescription medications in Howard Beach and Ozone Park.
The Gotti grandson’s car was stopped by Howard beach cops in June for having windows tinted below the legal level. He was found with an expired driver’s license and Gucci bag with over 200 oxycodone pills.
Queens native and Bonanno member Christopher Boothby, 37, is one of men charged with Giallanzo. Known as “Bald Chris,” Boothby had also been indicted with Gotti and Asaro on charges of arson, bank robbery, Hobbs Act robberies and firearms offenses just a week prior.
Reach reporter Mark Hallum by e-mail at mhall
