A Howard Beach man connected to the mob is paying a hefty price for his involvement in a loansharking ring.
Ronald (aka Ronnie G) Giallanzo, an acting captain in the Bonanno crime family, pleaded guilty earlier this year to a federal racketeering conspiracy charge and for violating conditions of his supervised release after being previously convicted of racketeering.
During his sentencing on Aug. 15 in U.S. District Court in Brooklyn, Giallanzo was ordered to serve 14 years behind bars, pay $268,000 in restitution to his victims, forfeit $1.25 million in assets and sell his mansion in Howard Beach.
Federal prosecutors said that Giallanzo used proceeds from his racketeering ring to transform his home from a humble ranch into a two-story palazzo that could have rivaled Tony Soprano’s digs on “The Sopranos.” The mob captain reported spent more than $1 million to reconstruct and furnish the home, which features five bedrooms, five bathrooms, radiant heated floors, luxury appliances, three kitchens and a salt water pool with a waterfall.
“Giallanzo is headed to prison, forced to sell his mansion built on ill-gotten proceeds and held responsible for brazenly committing many of his crimes from behind bars while serving another organized crime-related sentence,” U.S. Attorney Richard Donoghue said.
According to law enforcement sources, Giallanzo participated in the loansharking scheme between 1998 and 2017, operating both on the street and event while serving an eight-year prison sentence during the period. He provided borrowers with loans, charged exorbitant interest rates and demanded weekly payments under penalty of violence.
Prosecutors said Giallanzo dispatched fellow mob associates to collect weekly payments and mete out penalties — from verbal threats to brutal violence — against those who failed to pay.
The ring, authorities said, gained more than $26 million in proceeds over 19 years. Most of the crimes occurred in the Howard Beach area.
Giallanzo and nine other alleged associates were arrested in March 2017 on a 37-count federal indictment that was the result of an extensive investigation between federal and state law enforcement agencies. Prosecutors built their case using evidence and testimony obtained from court-authorized wiretaps, reviews of government and public records, electronic and video surveillance, and with the help of several cooperating witnesses.
Four of Giallanzo’s associates — Evan Greenberg, 46; Richard Heck, 46; Michael Hintze, 52; and Robert Tanico, 50, all from Queens — were previously convicted and sentenced for their roles in the ring. Five others — Queens’ Michael Padavona, 50, Michael Palmaccio, 47, and Robert Pisani, 45, along with Christopher Boothby, 39, of Brooklyn, and Nicholas Festa, 40, of Oceanside, Long Island — are still awaiting sentencing.
