The owner of the fun Avenue B nightspot Rue B took the witness stand yesterday to testify at the racketeering trial of alleged Colombo gangster John (Sonny) Franzese. Owner Peter Dupre says his establishment's trouble with the mob all started in 2007 when Italian-American bit part actor Vinny Vella, who had small roles in The Sopranos (he played Johnny Sack's consigliere Jimmy Petrille) and Casino, introduced him to Franzese. The alleged gangster and his cronies soon became regulars at the restaurant, frequently walking out on big bills. Then—SPOILER ALERT—Franzese's minions allegedly started leaning on Dupre for "protection" tribute. more ›

After a two year investigation, the Manhattan DA has indicted 29 people accused of connections with the Lucchese crime family, and six of them worked as inspectors for the city Department of Buildings. Asked how the mobsters were able to rise to the level of supervisory positions in the department, DA Robert Morgenthau told reporters, "I’ll leave that for you to figure out...They had developed a small beachfront into this agency... This two-year joint investigation reminds us that the threat of traditional organized crime is not a thing of the past." more ›