NEW YORK _ Nineteen alleged mobsters, including a dozen top leaders and soldiers of the Lucchese family, were charged with a racketeering conspiracy that included murders, robberies, extortion and drug distribution in a new federal indictment on Wednesday.
The named defendants included alleged Lucchese family street boss Matthew Madonna, underboss Steven "Wonder Boy" Crea, and consigliere Joseph DiNapoli, as well as four captains and five soldiers in the family.
Among other crimes, they were charged with the 2013 murder of Michael Meldish, himself an alleged mob leader in the Bronx, and mail and wire fraud in connection with a $25 million New York City hospital expansion and other public building projects.
Officials said four of the defendants _ including Madonna _ were already in custody on other charges, and 15 were arrested Wednesday. All 19, most of them from Westchester County and Staten Island, were scheduled to appear in federal court in White Plains.
