Pahrump man among indicted in alleged crime ring

Kim Smith

Monday, Dec. 6, 1999 | 11:14 a.m.

One of 39 people indicted in New York last week as part of a La Cosa Nostra investigation was a Pahrump resident.

Anthony Greco, who is charged in the shooting death of Joseph "Joey O" Masella, was arrested in Pahrump Thursday morning, New York City FBI Special Agent Jim Margolin said today.

"Greco had two residences, one on Staten Island and one in Pahrump," Margolin said. "I think the Pahrump residence has been his primary residence for about a year."

Greco, 44, was scheduled to attend an extradition hearing on Tuesday before U.S. Magistrate Roger Hunt. He has been held in the Clark County Detention Center since Thursday.

Nye County Sheriff Wade Lieseke said he was unfamiliar with Greco.

A Manhattan grand jury indicted 39 alleged members of five La Cosa Nostra families last week on a wide range of organized crime-related charges including murder, extortion, attempted robbery, loan sharking and illegal gambling.

Margolin said the indictments were significant because it will be the first time members of the Decavalcante crime family will face charges in New York.

The family is New Jersey's most powerful organized crime family and a two-year investigation revealed it had begun working hand-in-hand with members of the Bonanno, Colombo, Gambino and Luchese families, who are based in New York, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office in New York.

"These indictments represent the broadest racketeering charges ever brought against the New York faction of the Decavalcante family," said Mary Jo White, United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York. "The effect of these charges will be to dismantle the Decavalcante family's power base in New York and to help eradicate the corrupt influence of all of La Cosa Nostra throughout the metropolitan area."

The indictment alleges that Greco conspired with one of the alleged heads of the Decavalcante family, Vincent Palermo, and Westley Paloscio to kill Masella, who was involved in the family's New York gambling operation.

Masella was found Oct. 10, 1998, in the parking lot of a Brooklyn golf course with multiple gunshot wounds, Margolin said. He died several hours later.

If convicted, Greco could receive the death penalty.

The government is seeking $2.5 million in proceeds the family allegedly received as a result of their illegal activities.