Ned P. Rauch
WHITE PLAINS – A federal judge sentenced a pair of local
"made men" to five months in prison Tuesday after they pleaded guilty
to loansharking as part of a wider plan to control the region's trash-hauling
industry.
Dominick Pietranico, 83, of Mahopac, and Joseph
Sarcinella, 79, of Scarsdale, were also ordered to forfeit about $10,000 each
and pay fines of several thousand dollars. Their prison sentence will be
followed by a year of supervised release.
The sentences were handed down by U.S. District Judge P.
Kevin Castel.
According to the office of U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara,
the two men are members of the Genovese crime family. The two "provided
protection and 'backing' to a government witness who operated a waste disposal
company, and made an extortionate loan at a rate of interest exceeding 100
percent annually," a news release from Bharara's office said.
The federal- and Westchester County-led investigation
that snared Pietranico and Sarcinella led to charges for a total of 32 people.
Of those, 21 have been convicted.