Gambino Crime Family Associate Gennaro Bruno Charged With The 2002 Murder Of Martin Bosshart

Earlier today, an indictment was unsealed charging Gennaro “Jerry” Bruno of the Gambino organized crime family of La Cosa Nostra (the “Gambino crime family”) with racketeering and racketeering conspiracy, including predicate acts of murder, narcotics trafficking, extortion and obstruction of justice.1 Bruno was arrested today in Las Vegas, Nevada, where his initial appearance for removal proceedings to the Eastern District of New York is scheduled for later today at the Lloyd D. George United States Courthouse, 333 Las Vegas Boulevard South, Las Vegas, Nevada.

The charges and Bruno’s arrest were announced by Loretta E. Lynch, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York and George Venizelos, Assistant Director-in-Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office.

“As alleged, Gennaro Bruno started his criminal career at a young age as a member of a street gang where he earned his criminal credentials. He then graduated to become an associate in the Gambino crime family, where he proved himself to be both an earner for the family and capable of murder. The arrests and charges announced today are a testament to the tireless pursuit of justice by law enforcement,” stated United States Attorney Lynch. “We will not rest until violent criminals who use their mafia ties to obstruct justice and evade the law are brought to justice.” Ms. Lynch extended her grateful appreciation to the FBI, New York City Police Department and the Queens County District Attorney for their outstanding assistance in this case.

FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge George Venizelos stated, “As alleged, Gennaro “Jerry” Bruno was originally trained as a member of the “Young Guns.” After being released from prison, Bruno was promoted to associate of the Gambino crime family. In January of 2002, Bruno executed Martin Bosshart by shooting him in the back of the head. Bruno was as ruthless as he was calculating, and after a long run of evading justice, Bruno’s gig is up.”

According to the indictment and other court filings, when Bruno was released following a term of imprisonment from approximately 1997 to 2000, he emerged as an associate of the Gambino crime family, having graduated from the local gang of young men referred to as the “Liberty Posse” or the “Young Guns.” Over the next 14 years, before his arrest today, Bruno engaged in a myriad of crimes with and on behalf of a faction of the Gambino crime family aligned with Joseph “JoJo” Corozzo, a powerful Gambino member who had risen to become the consigliere of the family. Bruno and other Gambino crime family members and associates moved large quantities of high-potency marijuana from Canada into the New York City area. In 2001, Bruno’s criminal associate Martin Bosshart began efforts to exclude one of Bruno’s coconspirators from the marijuana importation operation. In an effort to prevent Bosshart from doing so, Bruno plotted with other Gambino crime family members and associates, including Todd LaBarca, to murder Bosshart.2 On the night of January 2, 2002, Bruno and others lured Bosshart to an isolated location in Queens, New York. There, Bruno allegedly shot Bosshart in the back of the head at point-blank range, killing him immediately. The body of Martin Bosshart, who was 30 years old at the time, was recovered at the scene.

Thereafter, Bruno evaded justice for years and conspired with other Gambino associates to obstruct an official grand jury proceeding into the Bosshart murder, while continuing to participate in the core money-making activities of the Gambino crime family, including drug trafficking and extortion. As part of the alleged pattern of racketeering, Bruno, among other things, used his position in the Gambino crime family to extract extortionate payments from the owner of a waste carting company in Queens, New York.

The government’s case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney M. Kristin Mace.

The Defendant:

GENNARO BRUNO, a/k/a “Jerry”

Age: 41

Las Vegas, Nevada

E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 14-CR-556 (WFK)

___________________________________________________________________________

1 The charges announced today are merely allegations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

2 On April 26, 2012, fellow Gambino associate Todd LaBarca pleaded guilty in the Southern District of New York to racketeering, with predicate acts of conspiracy to murder Martin Bosshart, narcotics trafficking, extortion and bookmaking, as well as conspiracy to commit assault in aid of racketeering.