NEW JERSEY
A federal judge on Tuesday sentenced a member of the Lucchese crime family to 30 years in prison for his role in the take over of FirstPlus Financial Group Inc., a publicly-held company in Texas.
In 2007,Nicodemo “Little Nicky” Scarfo, 50, of Galloway, New Jersey and other defendants used threats of economic harm to intimidate and remove the fiancial institution’s management and board of directors, and to replace them with persons beholden to Scarfo and others, according to officials.
“Scarfo and his crew gave new meaning to the term ‘corporate takeover,’ pushing out the legitimate leadership of a publicly traded company and then looting it,” said U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman. “They used false SEC filings, phony consulting agreements and more traditional mob methods to steal $12 million from the company’s shareholders. That’s a risk that investors should never have to take.”
Scarfo; Salvatore Pelullo, 48, of Philadelphia, an associate of the Philadelphia and Lucchese families; William Maxwell, 56, of Houston, a Texas attorney; and John Maxwell, 63, of Dallas, were convicted in July 2014, after a six-month trial.
They were convicted of racketeering conspiracy and related offenses, including securities fraud, wire fraud, mail fraud, bank fraud, extortion, money laundering and obstruction of justice, officials said.
In addition to sentencing Scarfo to prison, U.S. District Judge Robert B. Kugler ordered Scarfo to forfeit his interest in certain properties and to pay restitution in the amount of about $14 million.
Pelullo, William Maxwell and John Maxwell are scheduled to be sentenced later this week.
According to evidence, since 1989, Scarfo has been a member of the Lucchese family. As a member, he was required to earn money and participate in the affairs of the Lucchese family.