Genovese Mafia Crime Family Captain Returns to Prison

Friends of ours: Angelo "The Horn" Prisco, Genovese Crime Family

Reputed Genovese family capo Angelo "The Horn" Prisco pleaded guilty in Newark federal court to one count of extortion in connection with attempts to win electrical business connected to the San Gennaro festival in Little Italy.

Under the plea deal announced Thursday afternoon, federal prosecutors said Prisco must serve five years in prison.

Investigators said Prisco, 68, threatened violence to intimidate rivals out of the running for hanging lights and other electrical work associated with the summer outdoor festival. The threats were recorded by the FBI during a meeting at an Edgewater, N.J., restaurant back in July 2004.

Prisco has been at the center of controversy over his parole from state prison when James McGreevey was governor. Prisco had been sentenced to 12 years for arson and conspiracy back in 1988. But he was paroled after serving about one third of his state sentence.

Some questioned whether the reputed mobster received special treatment. McGreevey has denied any impropriety and denied he played any role in helping arrange Prisco's early release. But former Parole Board Director Kenneth Connolly had claimed that McGreevey's office demoted and transferred him in 2002 when he questioned Prisco's early release. Connolly claimed that a top McGreevey aide had intervened in the Prisco case.

Connolly's lawsuit was settled for more than $400,000. At the time, the deal permitted Connolly to transfer from the Parole Board, where he was a hearing officer, to the Motor Vehicle Commission.

Thanks to Jonathan Dienst