For some teenagers, summer camp means horseback riding, mountain hikes, and telling stories around the campfire. But for a group of teens who recently participated in the FBI's “Future Agents in Training” program, camp was all about getting an inside look at what it’s like to be an FBI special agent.
The program, now in its second year, is a weeklong summer camp based at the FBI's Washington Field Office and is designed to provide a fun, hands-on experience for students 16-18 years of age interested in FBI career opportunities.
In 2007, 30 students from D.C. schools and various Washington-area Middle Eastern organizations participated. This year, the program was expanded, drawing more than 200 applicants nationally, 41 of whom were accepted.
“It has been a phenomenal success,” says Joseph Persichini, Jr., Assistant Director in Charge of the Washington Field Office who was instrumental in creating the program and hopes it will serve as a “pipeline for youth into the FBI.”
Persichini says he was very impressed with the teens who participated, citing their intelligence and high level of motivation at a relatively young age. The course is a “fantastic opportunity” for such focused young people, he adds.
Rocco Settonni is a good example. When the 16-year-old from Cleveland, Ohio read about the summer program on the FBI's website, he informed his mother that he was going to apply and that he had every intention of being accepted.
“He was going to make it happen come heck or high water,” his mom Margie recalls. “Rocco is a determined young man.”
“My personal career goal is to work as a special agent, focusing on intelligence/counterintelligence or counterterrorism,” Rocco wrote in a 500-word essay required as part of the competitive application process. He explained that to reach his goal of one day becoming an agent, he was also “very willing to learn to speak Farsi, Pashtu, or any other language vital to the defense of the United States.”
Elliott Styles, a high school sophomore from Baltimore, Maryland, wrote in his essay: “Basically what I really hope to achieve from this program is to learn the everyday life of an FBI agent.”
Elliott and his classmates were not disappointed. During the weeklong course they collected evidence, helped solve a mock bank robbery, saw how a polygraph test is administered, and spoke with agents in the field—including George Piro, who interviewed former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein after the dictator’s capture in 2003. There was also a private tour of the Capitol, a graduation ceremony at the end of the week, and a meeting with FBI Director Robert Mueller at their training facility in Quantico, Virginia.
By giving young people a realistic look at how the FBI operates, the Future Agents in Training Program is “planting a seed” for the future, Persichini says. And if 30 or 40 students participate every summer and go back to their friends, families, and communities to talk about the positive experience they had, everyone benefits.
“If that one week changes their lives, reinforces their commitment to the FBI or to public service in general,” Persichini says, then the program “is worth its weight in gold.”
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Nicholas Ferriola, Son of Former Chicago Mob Boss, Sentenced to Prison
The son of a former Chicago Outfit boss was sentenced Tuesday to three years in federal prison for profiting from illegal sports gambling and extorting businesses on behalf of the mob.
Nicholas Ferriola admitted that from at least 1999 until he was indicted in March of 2007, he profited up to $160,000 a month from running gambling operations as part of the Outfit's 26th street crew. His father Joseph "Joe Nagal" Ferriola, a convicted felon, headed the Chicago mob from 1986 until he had a pair of heart transplants and died of cardiac failure three years later.
At Tuesday's sentencing hearing, the younger Ferriola was ordered by Judge James Zagel to forfeit more than $9 million and pay $6,000 in fines. Federal officials believe Ferriola made more than $9 million dollars during his career with the Chicago outfit, a figure Ferriola disputed. According to filings by the US attorney's office, Ferriola was pulled over when Chicago Police in 1999, suspected of driving under the influence. Officers found $15,000 in Ferriola's pants pocket. He was a high school drop out with no verified employment history and had no explanation for the cash. Weeks later, the government caught a conversation on tape, between Ferriola and a senior member of the Chicago outfit, Frank "The Breeze" Calabrese, discussing profits. Ferriola told Calabrese he is "making a hundred thousand" dollars each week. Calabrese Sr. told Ferriola to be careful when he's talking about money.
Ferriola, 33, is considered by federal law enforcement to be a low-level hoodlum compared to his co-defendants in last summer's Operation Family Secrets trial. Outfit bosses Frank Calabrese Sr., Joseph "Joey the Clown" Lombardo and James Marcello were among five Outfit bosses found guilty of 18 mob hits that went unsolved for years. The gangland killings included the murder of Tony "Ant" Spilotro, the Outfit's Las Vegas boss and the inspiration for Joe Pesci's character in the movie "Casino". Ferriola was not accused in any of the murders.
Thanks to Chuck Goudie and Ann Pistone
Nicholas Ferriola admitted that from at least 1999 until he was indicted in March of 2007, he profited up to $160,000 a month from running gambling operations as part of the Outfit's 26th street crew. His father Joseph "Joe Nagal" Ferriola, a convicted felon, headed the Chicago mob from 1986 until he had a pair of heart transplants and died of cardiac failure three years later.
At Tuesday's sentencing hearing, the younger Ferriola was ordered by Judge James Zagel to forfeit more than $9 million and pay $6,000 in fines. Federal officials believe Ferriola made more than $9 million dollars during his career with the Chicago outfit, a figure Ferriola disputed. According to filings by the US attorney's office, Ferriola was pulled over when Chicago Police in 1999, suspected of driving under the influence. Officers found $15,000 in Ferriola's pants pocket. He was a high school drop out with no verified employment history and had no explanation for the cash. Weeks later, the government caught a conversation on tape, between Ferriola and a senior member of the Chicago outfit, Frank "The Breeze" Calabrese, discussing profits. Ferriola told Calabrese he is "making a hundred thousand" dollars each week. Calabrese Sr. told Ferriola to be careful when he's talking about money.
Ferriola, 33, is considered by federal law enforcement to be a low-level hoodlum compared to his co-defendants in last summer's Operation Family Secrets trial. Outfit bosses Frank Calabrese Sr., Joseph "Joey the Clown" Lombardo and James Marcello were among five Outfit bosses found guilty of 18 mob hits that went unsolved for years. The gangland killings included the murder of Tony "Ant" Spilotro, the Outfit's Las Vegas boss and the inspiration for Joe Pesci's character in the movie "Casino". Ferriola was not accused in any of the murders.
Thanks to Chuck Goudie and Ann Pistone
Get a Free Issue of "Informer: The Journal of American Mafia History"
INFORMER: The Journal of American Mafia History was initially scheduled for release on Sept. 26. But the journal is available for FREE download NOW.
You should be able to access Informer by clicking the Download button at this web location: http://www.box.net/shared/1tqtm2ydfr
Contents of Issue 1
- The Mob's Worst Year: 1957
- Capone's Triggerman Kills Michigan Cop
- Newspaperman Reveals Lynch Mob Role
- A Look Back: 100 Years, 75 Years, 25 Years
- Ask the Informer: KC's DiGiovanni
- Book News and Reviews
- In the News
- Deaths
Informer would like to thank the following advertisers for participating in the journal launch: The First Vice Lord: Big Jim Colosimo and the Ladies of the Levee
by Art Bilek; The Mafia and the Machine: The Story of the Kansas City Mob
by Frank R. Hayde; Deep Water: Joseph P. Macheca and the Birth of the American Mafia
by Thomas Hunt and Martha Macheca Sheldon; Niagara Falls Mobtours; On the Spot Journal of Crime and Law Enforcement History edited by Rick Mattix; The American Mafia History website. We also would like to thank our early subscribers for their support.
For additional information on Informer Issue #1 visit the website: http://mafiainformer.blogspot.com/.
There is no charge for this first issue. However, Informer's quarterly electronic issues will be available only to subscribers starting with the next issue in January. Subscriptions are now available at a special price through the website above.
You should be able to access Informer by clicking the Download button at this web location: http://www.box.net/shared/1tqtm2ydfr
Contents of Issue 1
- The Mob's Worst Year: 1957
- Capone's Triggerman Kills Michigan Cop
- Newspaperman Reveals Lynch Mob Role
- A Look Back: 100 Years, 75 Years, 25 Years
- Ask the Informer: KC's DiGiovanni
- Book News and Reviews
- In the News
- Deaths
Informer would like to thank the following advertisers for participating in the journal launch: The First Vice Lord: Big Jim Colosimo and the Ladies of the Levee
by Art Bilek; The Mafia and the Machine: The Story of the Kansas City Mob by Frank R. Hayde; Deep Water: Joseph P. Macheca and the Birth of the American Mafia by Thomas Hunt and Martha Macheca Sheldon; Niagara Falls Mobtours; On the Spot Journal of Crime and Law Enforcement History edited by Rick Mattix; The American Mafia History website. We also would like to thank our early subscribers for their support.For additional information on Informer Issue #1 visit the website: http://mafiainformer.blogspot.com/.
There is no charge for this first issue. However, Informer's quarterly electronic issues will be available only to subscribers starting with the next issue in January. Subscriptions are now available at a special price through the website above.
RICO and The Mob
The act of engaging in criminal activity as a structured group is referred to in the United States as Racketeering. In the U.S., organized crime is often prosecuted federally under the Racketeer Influence and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO), Statute (18 U.S.C. Part 1 Chapter 96 §§1961-1968.
The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, commonly referred to as ―RICO, was enacted in 1970 to address the infiltration of legitimate businesses by organized crime. RICO is a federal statute found at Title 18 of the United States Code. Section 1962(c) of RICO prohibits persons ―employed by or associated with any enterprise engaged in, or the activities of which affect, interstate or foreign com-merce, to conduct or participate, directly or indirectly, in the conduct of such enter-prises affairs through a pattern of racketeering activity.
It is easiest to understand the United States RICO Act when you realize that it was designed to be used to prosecute the Mafia. In the context of the Mafia, the defendant person (i.e., the target of the RICO Act) is the Godfather. The activities that are considered racketeering are criminal activities in which the Mafia commonly engages, e.g., extortion, bribery, loan sharking, murder, illegal drug sales, prostitution, etc.
The pattern of criminal activity has been occurring for many years and even possibly for generations. This creates a pattern of criminal activity in which the Mafia family has engaged. These criminal actions possibly done over a span of 10 years or more, constitute a pattern of racketeering activity. The purpose of the RICO Act is to hold the Godfather criminally liable for the actions of his own criminal network.
The government can criminally prosecute the Godfather under RICO and send him to jail even if the Godfather has never personally killed, extorted, bribed or engaged in any criminal behavior. The Godfather can be imprisoned because he operated and managed a criminal enterprise that engaged in such acts. The victims of the Mafia family can sue for damages civilly. They can potentially recover their economic losses that they sustained by the actions of the Mafia family and their pattern of racketeering.
The section of the RICO Act that permits civil recovery is section 1964(c). The persons who could potentially recover civil damages might be the extorted businessman, or the employers whose employees were bribed, or debtors of the loan shark, or the family of a murder victim.
Thanks to Dr. Janet L. Parker D.V.M.
The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, commonly referred to as ―RICO, was enacted in 1970 to address the infiltration of legitimate businesses by organized crime. RICO is a federal statute found at Title 18 of the United States Code. Section 1962(c) of RICO prohibits persons ―employed by or associated with any enterprise engaged in, or the activities of which affect, interstate or foreign com-merce, to conduct or participate, directly or indirectly, in the conduct of such enter-prises affairs through a pattern of racketeering activity.
It is easiest to understand the United States RICO Act when you realize that it was designed to be used to prosecute the Mafia. In the context of the Mafia, the defendant person (i.e., the target of the RICO Act) is the Godfather. The activities that are considered racketeering are criminal activities in which the Mafia commonly engages, e.g., extortion, bribery, loan sharking, murder, illegal drug sales, prostitution, etc.
The pattern of criminal activity has been occurring for many years and even possibly for generations. This creates a pattern of criminal activity in which the Mafia family has engaged. These criminal actions possibly done over a span of 10 years or more, constitute a pattern of racketeering activity. The purpose of the RICO Act is to hold the Godfather criminally liable for the actions of his own criminal network.
The government can criminally prosecute the Godfather under RICO and send him to jail even if the Godfather has never personally killed, extorted, bribed or engaged in any criminal behavior. The Godfather can be imprisoned because he operated and managed a criminal enterprise that engaged in such acts. The victims of the Mafia family can sue for damages civilly. They can potentially recover their economic losses that they sustained by the actions of the Mafia family and their pattern of racketeering.
The section of the RICO Act that permits civil recovery is section 1964(c). The persons who could potentially recover civil damages might be the extorted businessman, or the employers whose employees were bribed, or debtors of the loan shark, or the family of a murder victim.
Thanks to Dr. Janet L. Parker D.V.M.
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