The Mafia Today

Today in history: Breaking the power of the mob - Projo 7 to 7 ...

It's finally over. It's been 87 months since a deadly fire at the Station nightclub in West Warwick killed 100 people and injured more than 200 others, and now, the civil lawsuits filed by the victims have ended and much of the settlement money that's been offered will be paid out in about a month. Yesterday, having heard no last-minute objections from any of the 65 defendants who are paying the $176 million in settlement money, Senior U.S. District Court Judge Ronald R. Lagueux signed a historic order ending the mass personal-injury litigation, starting the 30-day period during which 70 percent of the money must be paid. The remaining 30 percent must be paid within 90 days. All of the money will be deposited by the defendants in a trust account at Citizens Bank that will be protected by FDIC insurance. The bank will forward the money to the lawyers for the fire victims and survivors, who will then send settlement checks to their clients. Those who have struggled financially and are in bankruptcy with creditors that must be paid will have to wait a bit longer as their settlements must be funneled through bankruptcy trustees. But there aren't many people in that category any more, lawyers say.

Five years ago today: Biologists hope to glean almost a year's worth of data from a dead basking shark that washed up on Easton's Beach this week with a satellite tag attached to its fin. The 20-foot-long female shark washed up on the beach a day or two ago, said Nancy Kohler, a biologist for the National Marine Fisheries Service in Narragansett. Scientists weren't immediately sure how old the shark was or what caused its death. The shark was tagged last year by the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries, and the satellite transponder found on the corpse could provide months of information on its movements. Greg Skomal, a shark specialist for the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries, placed the tag on the shark's dorsal fin in June about a mile off Martha's Vineyard. The $3,500 tag was supposed to detach from the shark's dorsal fin after six months, float to the ocean's surface and transmit data to a satellite orbiting above. For unknown reasons, the tag never detached, Skomal said.

25 years ago today: Federal prosecution of the leaders of New York's "five families," coupled with the Italian government's cooperation in cracking down on the Sicilian Mafia, is breaking the power of the mob, the chief U.S. prosecutor for New York City says. Rudolph W. Giuliani, U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, said the indictments of top mob leaders have "had an inhibiting effect on the ability of the Mafia to operate." Giuliani held a press conference in Providence before a meeting with Rhode Island Atty. Gen. Arlene Violet and lawyers from her staff. The indictments have made it difficult for organized-crime lieutenants to meet openly, for fear they, too, will be caught by law-enforcement agents, Giuliani said. "There is no purpose to being in organized crime if you can't communicate." A decline in heroin traffic in New York is one indication that the Mafia is on the decline there, Giuliani said. However, he acknowledged it is "difficult" to "think you can find really objective measures" of a drop in the mob's influence. Violet said there has been a drop in gambling activity in Rhode Island, which she called one of the "traditional pursuits" of mobsters in New England. Raymond J. "Junior" Patriarca, the reputed boss of New England organized crime, said recently he probably will leave Rhode Island. Giuliani said such a move would not necessarily signal either a drop in mob activity here or in Patriarca's role in the organization.

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