Charge 2 Ex-Officials Of School Bus Local In Shakedown Ring

Two more alleged associates of the Genovese Crime Family faction that ran the school bus drivers' union for at least three decades have been indicted on extortion and racketeering charges.

Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District Lev Dassin said June 3 that former Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1181 executive board members Nick and Paul Maddalone participated in a scheme to promise non-union operators not to organize in exchange for illegal payments and to extort money from companies where the union represented workers.

'Used Intimidation and Threats'

"The Maddalones and other participants in the scheme used both their union status and, as applicable, their organized-crime status, as a means of inducing payment, obtaining tens of thousands of dollars from bus company owners through intimidation, threats, and fear of personal and economic harm," Mr. Dassin's office said in a statement.

Former Local 1181 president and Genovese Family soldier Salvatore Battaglia is serving a 57-month Federal prison term after pleading guilty to racketeering charges that included shaking down bus-company owners. Matthew "Matty the Horse" Ianniello, whom Federal prosecutors have identified as a boss of the Genovese Family, pleaded guilty in 2006 to controlling the union, primarily through his close friend, longtime Local 1181 Secretary Treasurer Julius "Spike" Bernstein. Mr. Bernstein also pleaded guilty to racketeering charges prior to his death.

The Maddalones face two counts each of extortion charges, for which they could serve up to 20 years in prison if convicted. They each face another five years on two counts of unlawful payment.