Sunday, June 04, 2017

Lucchese crime family funneled millions from hospital project

The New York Post reports:
The mob turned taxpayer-backed Bronx-Lebanon Hospital expansion into its own piggy bank.


Construction expenses at the hospital’s new nine-story outpatient center ballooned by some $5 million — with cash allegedly ending up in the pockets of the Lucchese crime family and hospital executives, The Post has learned.

Lucchese underboss Steven “Wonder Boy” Crea Sr. and associate Joseph Venice were charged with wire and mail fraud in connection with the project at “a major New York City hospital,” according to a federal indictment unsealed last week in a major mob takedown. But the document didn’t identify the hospital or reveal the scheme’s dirty details.

No Bronx-Lebanon executives were named in the indictment, but the federal probe, which began four years ago, is ongoing, and focused on hospital honchos whose palms may have been greased.

Crea, 69, had close ties to Sparrow Construction, the Bronx firm in charge of building the $42 million annex at Bronx-Lebanon. He was a regular visitor to the firm’s offices while the center was under construction, a source told The Post.
No word yet on this story from Nancy Pelosi, who we think has heard of the Lucchese crime family.