Caught up in crime
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Two locales, the Woodfield Road Club, 129 Woodfield Road, and the Delta Seven Club, 115 Woodfield Road, were operated as social clubs. However, according to the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Roslynn Mauskopf, they were fronts for an illegal gambling ring that netted about $16,000 a week in illegal profits. Mustafa Kahraman, 48, of Elmont was arrested for allegedly running the Woodfield Road Club.
The charges come about after a 32-month investigation that began with an undercover investigation into illegal gambling operations on Long Island.
Arrested were reputed Genovese crime family members Nicholas Gruttadauria, 62, of Sarasota, Fla., Joseph Rutigliano, 46, of Commack and Ronald Pecoraro, 62, of West Islip. Also arrested in the sweep were 11 suspects in an illegal gambling ring that Gruttadauria, Pecoraro and Rutigliano are suspected of running on Long Island.
The Woodfield Road Club, located in the Western Beef Parking lot, is particularly unassuming. Aside from the "Members Only" sign above the door, one would likely think the store, located on the westernmost corner of a small strip-mall, was abandoned. The interior is hidden from view by white shades pulled over the glass windows and doors.
Employees at local businesses say they rarely saw people inside the club.
"I worked [next door] for two years," said an employee of a local shop, "I leave at 6 o'clock and I never saw anybody."
Only one of seven people said they thought, "something was going on in there."
Judge judgement
In a separate but related indictment, David Gross, a Nassau County District Court judge and Long Beach resident, was arrested Tuesday morning by FBI agents and charged with being part of a massive money-laundering conspiracy involving his re-election campaign.
According to a statement issued by the U.S. attorney's office, Gross, 43, a Democrat, engaged in conspiracies to sell stolen merchandise and money laundering.
First elected in 1999, Gross was nominated for re-election in November's election by the Democrats and the Working Families Party. Eugene Cammarato, vice chairman of the Nassau County Democratic Party and a former Long Beach Democratic chairman, said he could not comment on the arrest. Joshua Ketover, the new Democratic leader in Long Beach, said, "Guilty or innocent, this is a tragedy. Guilty or innocent, it's a reminder that nobody is above the law."
The U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York, , jointly announced the arrests Tuesday morning with Mark Mershon, assistant director in charge of the FBI's New York field office. Gross was arraigned Tuesday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Arlene R. Lindsay at the U.S. Courthouse in Central Islip. He was freed on $500,000 bail after putting up his Wilson Street home as collateral.
Gross's attorney, John Carmen of Garden City, did not return a call for comment.
Though the initial probe was on illegal gambling, the case soon focused on Gross. The evidence against him, some of which was released to the media on Tuesday, contains statements Gross allegedly made while being secretly wiretapped by an undercover FBI agent.
According to the U.S. attorney, in January the agent met with Gruttadauria, Pecoraro and Gross at the Garden City Hotel, and informed them that he was in the import/export business. On Jan. 29, the agent met with Gross alone in a hotel room and showed him 19 diamonds that he told the judge were "completely untraceable" and "unmarked." The agent told Gross he would be willing to pay him a finder's fee for introducing the agent to a seller. Mauskopf said Gross told the agent he could make the arrangements.
Then the conversation turned, according to the statement from the U.S. attorney. "First, Gross laid out a plan to use his campaign fund to launder the cash, wherein the FBI undercover agent would pose as a political consultant whose fund-raising activities generated the source of cash and checks deposited into Gross's campaign account."
Gross suggested a fund-raising party at Cafe-by-the-Sea restaurant in Great Neck, which is owned by Kim Brady Land. The undercover agent, who said he was looking to launder the proceeds from the diamond sales, would give Land $10,000 in cash. In exchange, the restaurant owner would issue checks to various accounts provided by the FBI agent. Land agreed to use the restaurant to launder cash in exchange for a 16 percent fee, according to the U.S. attorney, while Gross accepted $500 in cash from the undercover agent as a finder's fee.
According to the U.S. attorney, Gross then became more deeply involved. "On April 1, the FBI agent met with Gross at the Garden City Hotel and offered him 24 diamonds and 10 watches for sale through Gross's jeweler contact," the statement went on. "Gross agreed, and took the merchandise. On April 20, Gross telephoned the FBI agent and informed him he had sold the diamonds for $7,500. On May 1, Gross called again and asked if he'd received a package in the mail. Later that day, the FBI agent received in the mail $7,500 in cash in an envelope bearing Cafe-by-the-Sea's return address."
Gross, Land and Gruttadauria are charged with laundering $130,000 in cash provided by the FBI agent, allegedly issuing phony invoices representing that the cash paid for catering parties at Cafe-by-the-Sea.
Gross faces charges of money laundering conspiracy and conspiracy to sell stolen merchandise. The laundering conspiracy charge carries a maximum 20-year prison sentence, while the sale of stolen merchandise conspiracy charge carries a maximum five-year sentence. He is also facing up to $750,000 in fines and the forfeiture of all gains from the alleged sales.
Gross is a 1980 graduate of Long Beach High School. He earned a law degree from the Benjamin Cardozo School of Law in New York and opened a private practice in Long Beach in 1995.
He took advantage of the changing political winds in Nassau County when he ran for judge in 1999, capitalizing on strong anti-Republican sentiment to win office. His recent high-profile cases included the assault charges against pop idol Lindsay Lohan's father, Michael, and the murder charges brought against the son of a Nassau University Medical Center E.R. surgeon. Gross's re-election bid appears, by all accounts, to be over.
This is the second high-profile criminal case involving a Long Beach Democrat to come to light in the last 12 months. Former City Councilman Daniel Kearney pleaded guilty on Nov. 22, 2004, to embezzling nearly $150,000 from Local 79 of the Laborers International Union of North America, when he was secretary-treasurer. He received a one-year prison sentence.
Comments about this story? DMiller@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 213.
The charges come about after a 32-month investigation that began with an undercover investigation into illegal gambling operations on Long Island.
Arrested were reputed Genovese crime family members Nicholas Gruttadauria, 62, of Sarasota, Fla., Joseph Rutigliano, 46, of Commack and Ronald Pecoraro, 62, of West Islip. Also arrested in the sweep were 11 suspects in an illegal gambling ring that Gruttadauria, Pecoraro and Rutigliano are suspected of running on Long Island.
The Woodfield Road Club, located in the Western Beef Parking lot, is particularly unassuming. Aside from the "Members Only" sign above the door, one would likely think the store, located on the westernmost corner of a small strip-mall, was abandoned. The interior is hidden from view by white shades pulled over the glass windows and doors.
Employees at local businesses say they rarely saw people inside the club.
Only one of seven people said they thought, "something was going on in there."
Judge judgement
In a separate but related indictment, David Gross, a Nassau County District Court judge and Long Beach resident, was arrested Tuesday morning by FBI agents and charged with being part of a massive money-laundering conspiracy involving his re-election campaign.
According to a statement issued by the U.S. attorney's office, Gross, 43, a Democrat, engaged in conspiracies to sell stolen merchandise and money laundering.
First elected in 1999, Gross was nominated for re-election in November's election by the Democrats and the Working Families Party. Eugene Cammarato, vice chairman of the Nassau County Democratic Party and a former Long Beach Democratic chairman, said he could not comment on the arrest. Joshua Ketover, the new Democratic leader in Long Beach, said, "Guilty or innocent, this is a tragedy. Guilty or innocent, it's a reminder that nobody is above the law."
The U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York, , jointly announced the arrests Tuesday morning with Mark Mershon, assistant director in charge of the FBI's New York field office. Gross was arraigned Tuesday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Arlene R. Lindsay at the U.S. Courthouse in Central Islip. He was freed on $500,000 bail after putting up his Wilson Street home as collateral.
Gross's attorney, John Carmen of Garden City, did not return a call for comment.
Though the initial probe was on illegal gambling, the case soon focused on Gross. The evidence against him, some of which was released to the media on Tuesday, contains statements Gross allegedly made while being secretly wiretapped by an undercover FBI agent.
According to the U.S. attorney, in January the agent met with Gruttadauria, Pecoraro and Gross at the Garden City Hotel, and informed them that he was in the import/export business. On Jan. 29, the agent met with Gross alone in a hotel room and showed him 19 diamonds that he told the judge were "completely untraceable" and "unmarked." The agent told Gross he would be willing to pay him a finder's fee for introducing the agent to a seller. Mauskopf said Gross told the agent he could make the arrangements.
Then the conversation turned, according to the statement from the U.S. attorney. "First, Gross laid out a plan to use his campaign fund to launder the cash, wherein the FBI undercover agent would pose as a political consultant whose fund-raising activities generated the source of cash and checks deposited into Gross's campaign account."
Gross suggested a fund-raising party at Cafe-by-the-Sea restaurant in Great Neck, which is owned by Kim Brady Land. The undercover agent, who said he was looking to launder the proceeds from the diamond sales, would give Land $10,000 in cash. In exchange, the restaurant owner would issue checks to various accounts provided by the FBI agent. Land agreed to use the restaurant to launder cash in exchange for a 16 percent fee, according to the U.S. attorney, while Gross accepted $500 in cash from the undercover agent as a finder's fee.
According to the U.S. attorney, Gross then became more deeply involved. "On April 1, the FBI agent met with Gross at the Garden City Hotel and offered him 24 diamonds and 10 watches for sale through Gross's jeweler contact," the statement went on. "Gross agreed, and took the merchandise. On April 20, Gross telephoned the FBI agent and informed him he had sold the diamonds for $7,500. On May 1, Gross called again and asked if he'd received a package in the mail. Later that day, the FBI agent received in the mail $7,500 in cash in an envelope bearing Cafe-by-the-Sea's return address."
Gross, Land and Gruttadauria are charged with laundering $130,000 in cash provided by the FBI agent, allegedly issuing phony invoices representing that the cash paid for catering parties at Cafe-by-the-Sea.
Gross faces charges of money laundering conspiracy and conspiracy to sell stolen merchandise. The laundering conspiracy charge carries a maximum 20-year prison sentence, while the sale of stolen merchandise conspiracy charge carries a maximum five-year sentence. He is also facing up to $750,000 in fines and the forfeiture of all gains from the alleged sales.
Gross is a 1980 graduate of Long Beach High School. He earned a law degree from the Benjamin Cardozo School of Law in New York and opened a private practice in Long Beach in 1995.
He took advantage of the changing political winds in Nassau County when he ran for judge in 1999, capitalizing on strong anti-Republican sentiment to win office. His recent high-profile cases included the assault charges against pop idol Lindsay Lohan's father, Michael, and the murder charges brought against the son of a Nassau University Medical Center E.R. surgeon. Gross's re-election bid appears, by all accounts, to be over.
This is the second high-profile criminal case involving a Long Beach Democrat to come to light in the last 12 months. Former City Councilman Daniel Kearney pleaded guilty on Nov. 22, 2004, to embezzling nearly $150,000 from Local 79 of the Laborers International Union of North America, when he was secretary-treasurer. He received a one-year prison sentence.
Comments about this story? DMiller@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 213.
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