Sixty-two men associated with the Gambino, Genovese and Bonanno crime families were arrested yesterday in a federal, state and local coordinated sweep in the New York region. A number of Gambino-related arrests were also made in Italy, and authorities have described this as the biggest mob bust in decades. Brooklyn U.S. Attorney Benton Campbell said, "Our goal is and always has been simple: to dismantle the Gambino organized-crime family in a coordinated and consistent......

This morning, federal agents have arrested over 50 members of the Gambino, Genovese and Bonanno crime families in New York City, New Jersey, and Long Island. Authorities are calling this the "biggest mafia bust in more than 20 years." The Post reports the 80-count indictment includes charges of murder, labor racketeering, "racketeering conspiracy, extortion, , theft of union benefits, mail fraud, false statements, loan sharking, embezzlement of union funds, money laundering and illegal gambling." One......

New York State Senate leader Joseph Bruno is still under FBI investigation for possibly improper ties to unions that deal with state pension agencies! In 2006, Bruno said of the FBI's look, "I have nothing to hide. They are going into background over the past five or six years," but the NY Times describes the feds' current investigation as widening. At issue are tens of millions of dollars paid by Albany labor unions in fees......

At 6:30AM yesterday morning, federal agents delivered "wake-up" subpoenas to the Reverend Al Shaprton and four of his employees at the National Action Network. The FBI and IRS are looking for financial and corporate records, some dating back to 2001, as part of an investigation into Sharpton's financing of his 2004 presidential campaign as well as allegations of tax fraud. Ten people in total were subpoenaed, including a former chief of staff who left in......

Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a suspicious fire in the area of Ludlow and Stanton Sts. in Manhattan, a crane vs. overpass incident at Westchester and Prospect Aves. in the Bronx, and an armed robbery on Shell Rd. in Brooklyn. Musician/actor Jon Bon Jovi is suing the maker of an energy drink for selling a coffee-based beverage called Mijovi. The owner of the NJ beverage company says that the name of his product is......

Late last month, a number of handwritten letters were mailed to newspapers across the country, with a threat directed at Goldman Sachs, saying that "hundreds will die" with the sign-off "A.Q.U.S.A." Officials say they do not consider the threats to be credible, though they are investigating the matter to figure out who sent the messages. The letters were postmarked from Manhattan and Queens and were sent to papers in NJ, Texas, Indiana and Washington. However,......

It's the ol' layover-and-flee move: Thirteen players from Haiti's under-17 national soccer team "deserted" their team during a layover at JFK Airport. Six players returned, but seven are still missing. The squad was headed to South Korea to prepare for the FIFA's U17 World Cup, but now it's unclear whether their team will be intact for its August 19 match against Japan. Haitian officials are looking for the teens, and Haiti's counsel general Felix Augustin......

Law enforcement officials held a press conference Saturday to outline the details of the thwarted terror plot directed against JFK airport. The group of four men, three of whom were arrested yesterday, were planning on exploding the pipeline that carries aviation fuel to JFK. Their hope was that it would set off a chain reaction along the length of the pipeline, which is 40 miles long and runs through several residential neighborhoods, in a......

Yesterday, six men were arrested for plotting to attack Fort Dix in NJ and other targets in the area. The men, Muslims from (the former) Yugoslavia, Turkey and Jordan, were apprehended after the FBI conducted 14 months of surveillance and infiltrated their group. The arrests came after two of the men tried to buy, per the Post, "AK-47 assault weapons, M-16s and grenade launchers" in their attempt to kill "as many American soldiers as......

Former US Weekly editor Timothy McDarrah was sentenced to six years in prison this week following his December conviction for attempting to have sex with a 13-year-old girl. Using the email address ps41alum@aol.com (now inactive, so don't bother sending hate mail), McDarrah responded to a Craigslist post planted by the FBI and offered $200 to have sex with a barely teen-aged girl. The FBI says McDarrah asked "What it'll cost for the cutest white 14-year-old......

Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: Found Explosive at Broadway and 116th St. in Manhattan, a Manhole Fire on Atlantic Ave. in Brooklyn, and a Homicide at 140-10 123rd Ave. in Queens. How to get a Manhattan hotel room for less than $200 a night. And it's not the Whitehouse on Bowery! Uphill and downhill could be two ways to characterize traffic safety debate in Park Slope, as a proposed bike lane for the incline......

Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: hazmat condition on Wall Street and water main breaks in Soho and Tribeca. Just great: WNBC's Jonathan Dienst reports, "The FBI said it believes a violent fugitive who kidnapped his girlfriend and threatened to use his military explosives training to blow her up in a building may be now hiding out in Queens." Love it or hate it, the new New School building on the corner of 14th and......

Dun dun DUN! It turns out about NY1 reported that Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver might try to delay a Public Authorities Control Board vote on the Atlantic Yards project, planners from the Empire State Development Corporation went to his office to plead their case! Now it looks like the vote will happen today and that Silver may, in fact, okay the massive $4 billion project as long as Governor Pataki "doesn't tie it to other......

A painting by Goya headed to the Guggenheim from the Toledo Museum of Art was stolen last week. A "professional art transporter" was couriering the painting for the Guggenheim's "Spanish Painting: From El Greco to Picasso" show when it somehow disappeared in Scranton, Pennsylvania. If he existed, you know Dwight Schrute would be all over this. The two museums and the FBI have released information about the theft in hopes of getting tips, what with......

The FBI has announced that NYC was the safest big city for 2005. If this sounds familiar, it's because NYC has pretty much been the safest for a couple years, and in fact announced the 2005 stats earlier this year. But the FBI has finally issued the full report, Crime in the U.S., and it's very detailed - you can see the breakouts of crime by age, felony type, and even what weapon was......

A group of Egyptian students headed to Montana State University for an exchange program have been missing since last month, after flying into JFK Airport. The FBI has issued a "be on the lookout" alert to look for the eleven male students who are around age 20, but the agency emphasized, "We do not know of any association with any terrorist or criminal groups. There is no threat associated with these men. We have simply......

As London remembers the first anniversary of its deadly subway attacks, the Daily News reveals that jihadists were plotting to blow up the Holland Tunnel in order to flood lower Manhattan. The plot was apparently in the works months ago, with a "pledge" of support from Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, with hopes, as the News puts it, "to drown the Financial District as New Orleans was by Hurricane Katrina." Well, given government response to floods,......

A couple more details about the rerouting of a JetBlue fight. JetBlue had its midnight flight from Newark to Puerto Rico early Sunday, but it ended up landing at JFK around 1AM: - The fist fight broke out amongst three female passengers - The fight broke out 70 miles over the Atlantic - The FBI is still weighing whether to press charges Let this be a lesson to everyone: Don't bring your aggro to the......

This sort of makes us feel better about the mistakes Gothamist makes in our every day life. An FBI agent accidentally fired his gun in front of the Moondance Diner two weeks ago during a bank fraud arrest. Apparently the sting operation got a little dicey when the agent tried to arrest one of the criminals, leading him to draw his gun. But police believe that when the agent went to put his gun back......

The NYCLU is working with the FBI as the federal agency investigates whether the NYPD violated civil rights of protesters during the Republican National Convention in 2004. The FBI only confirmed they did send a letter to the NYCLU, but luckily the NYCLU has a PDF of the letter here. The FBI is looking for Dennis Kyne, whose arrest was thrown out after "videotape contradicted" the police officer's account. Interesting - and we're sure......

The FBI raided the offices of State Assemblyman Brian McLaughlin, suspecting him of helping electrical contractors to win city streetlight and traffic-signal bids. McLaughlin represents a part of Queens in the State Assembly and is also the president of the NYC Central Labor Council (that West 15th Street was also raided), and has been a supporter of Mayor Bloomberg. Right now, two electric companies have about $162 million of city contracts for street lights with......

- The FBI raided the Central Labor Council this morning (pictures from the Politcker)! Apparently there was a bid-rigging scheme afoot to scam the Department of Transportation - Peter Braunstein violates probation - Those new rescue ropes the FDNY got came in handy yesterday - Doesn't it feel great to be in a state that gets sued by the Justice Department for not modernizing voting machines? Thanks, Albany - you guys are really doing......

OK. Let's just get something really clear here: No matter how much you don't want a flight to leave the airport it is never, repeat never, a good idea to call in a fake bomb threat. We're only putting this out there because it seems there are others out there who don't understand this really simple concept. First there was the girl who called a bomb threat in because the subway was late and......

Mayor Bloomberg crowed about New York City's declining crimes rates contributing to helping the national crime levels dropping. The FBI released its Uniform Crime Report for 2004 yesterday, and it is interesting how NYC's crime has impacted the overall numbers: A 4% drop in NYC 2004 crime contributed to a 67% decrease statewide, while a 20% decrease in nationwide crime from 2001-2004 is attributed to NYC's crime reduction measures. These numbers will not only be......

The Mayor is speaking! The Police Commissioner there! The FBI just shared some "specific" threat information about a threat to the NYC subways. The Mayor is trying to reassure commuters that the NYPD has done a lot (shout out to the Hercules team and subway bag checkers). He also says that a media outlet got the tip two days ago and held it. Also, shout out to "See Something, Say Something." A cynical theory:......

- It's hot out there. The City has lots of advice for staying cool and hydrated on their website not to mention the cooling centers that are open all over town. - Gas prices are up to $3 a gallon in some places and people are getting non-plused. It's OK though, prices are still higher in California. - A set of anorexic Walk/Don't Walk signs have appeared by Columbus Circle. The Times looks into it......

The FBI is digging up a vacant lot in Queens, looking for bodies of Gambino crime family victims. The Feds think the body of Gotti neighbor John Favara, who had accidentally run over John Gotti's 12 year-old son in 1980, is buried at Ruby Street and Blake Avenue. Gotti's widow says John didn't order the hit (they were conveniently out of town), but Gothamist has to side with the Feds on this one: People usually......

The FBI has released an initial report on uniform crime in 2003, and it seems that New York is one of the safest cities in the country, ranking 211 for crime, out of 230 cities with populations over 100,000. Mayor Bloomberg excitedly proclaimed NYC was the "safest", saying, "New York City has not only retained its title as the safest big city in the country, it had defied the odds and become even safer," using......