Two sons of murdered Mafia boss Joseph Colombo Sr. were nailed in a federal racketeering sweep yesterday, and charged with running a renegade crew that used age-old mob tactics to squeeze money from a very modern victim -Internet ad innovator DoubleClick.
Anthony and Christopher Colombo were arrested along with 16 other members of what was known as the Colombo Brothers Crew, according to a federal indictment that spelled out charges of racketeering, gambling and loan-sharking.
The indictment says the brothers and their cohorts used extortion to take over a company called EDP Construction and several connected firms in 1999.
They allegedly paid kickbacks to Francis Altieri, the facilities manager for DoubleClick, which was then renovating offices on West 33rd Street.
Altieri signed off on bogus bills that “double-billed DoubleClick for construction, cleaning and maintenance services,” according to a summary of the indictment released yesterday by U.S. Attorney David Kelley.
The Colombos bilked the company -which specializes in Internet advertising -out of hundreds of thousands of dollars and kicked back $90,000 to Altieri, the papers charge.
The indictment says the brothers were on the losing side in a bloody Colombo family war that broke out in the early 1990s, in which numerous mobsters were killed. After the war, Anthony Colombo and another gangster indicted yesterday, Gerard Clemenza, both soldiers in the crime family, were “put on the shelf” and cut out of mob business, the indictment says.
That led Anthony, Christopher and Clemenza to start their own “offshoot” of the family, the Colombo Brothers Crew, in 1994, the indictment said.
A law enforcement source said the brothers’ freelancing was unusual for the mob, but added that they played heavily on the Colombo name to give themselves weight.
The brothers also engaged in loan-sharking and gambling, with illicit profits in the millions of dollars, prosecutors charged.
Christopher Colombo appeared in court yesterday in a white Polo T-shirt and jogging pants, and was ordered held without bail after he pleaded not guilty.
His brother complained of chest pains after his arrest at 6 a.m. and was taken to the hospital. A lawyer entered a not guilty plea on his behalf.
Anthony Colombo, his father’s oldest son, was convicted of racketeering in 1986 and served part of a 14-year sentence.
The Colombo dad, Joseph Sr., headed the family that took his name until he was gunned down in 1971.
Prosecutors also rounded up 11 members of a separate gambling ring which they uncovered while investigating the Colombo brothers.