Three South Florida Men Charged in Obstruction of Justice and Money Laundering Operation

Fourth defendant charged with marriage fraud and money laundering

WASHINGTON, March 10 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Three Florida men were arrested today on charges including obstruction of justice and money laundering as part of a joint U.S. and Italian law enforcement action, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Jeffrey H. Sloman for the Southern District of Florida and John V. Gillies, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI's Miami Field Office.

Roberto Settineri, 41, of Miami Beach, Fla., and Daniel Dromerhauser, 39, of Miami were arrested this morning on charges contained in a superseding indictment unsealed today. Enrique Ros, 33, of Pembroke Pines, Fla., was also charged in the superseding indictment, but remains at large. The defendants are charged with one count of conspiracy to obstruct, two counts of obstruction and attempting to obstruct federal proceedings, one count of conspiracy to launder money and five counts of substantive money laundering. If convicted, the defendants face up to 20 years in prison on each of the nine charged counts.  

The charges filed in the Southern District of Florida against Settineri, Ros and Dromerhauser stem from an undercover operation in which, according to the indictment, the men allegedly agreed to destroy documents represented to be subject to a grand jury investigation. The indictment also alleges the three defendants agreed to launder funds and conceal assets represented to be the proceeds of a large-scale mail and wire fraud.

Antonio Tricamo, 37, of Miami, was arrested today on charges contained in a separate indictment, including four counts of money laundering, six counts of trafficking in contraband cigarettes and one count of marriage fraud. If convicted, Tricamo faces up to 20 years in prison on each of the money laundering charges and five years in prison on each the cigarette smuggling charges and the marriage fraud charge.

The charges filed against Tricamo stem from a separate undercover operation in which Tricamo allegedly assisted in laundering nearly $1 million in funds represented to be drug proceeds. Additionally, the indictment alleges Tricamo purchased more than 250,000 cigarettes, none of which contained tax stamps showing payment of applicable state cigarette taxes. Tricamo also allegedly entered into a false marriage in an attempt to gain lawful status into the United States.

The defendants made their initial appearances today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Robin Rosenbaum in U.S. District Court in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

In a coordinated arrest action, Gaetano Napoli Sr., Thomas Napoli and Gaetano Napoli Jr., were arrested today on charges filed in the Eastern District of New York, including obstruction of justice, extortion and concealment of assets in bankruptcy. According to documents filed in federal district court in Brooklyn, Gaetano Napoli Sr., is a member of the Gambino organized crime family and a close associate of Settineri.

As part of this coordinated enforcement action, prosecutors in Palermo, Italy, today charged Settineri and 20 co-defendants in Sicily with extortion, drug trafficking, attempted homicide and other crimes arising from their alleged affiliation with Santa Maria di Gesù, a Sicilian mafia family. Italian authorities executed arrests on those charges in and around Palermo earlier this morning.

"Today's arrests and the charging of more than 20 individuals on two continents is a tribute to what can be achieved in cooperation with our international partners," said Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division. "In a world where crime knows no boundaries, robust law enforcement cooperation is essential to detecting and prosecuting alleged criminal activity."

"This case demonstrates the success of national and international law enforcement cooperation to transcend parochial boundaries and jurisdictional limits," said U.S. Attorney U.S. Jeffrey H. Sloman for the Southern District of Florida. "Together, we can fight crime from different perspectives and hold accountable those accused of trying to pervert and obstruct our system of justice."  

"The age of global threats has propelled the FBI into an age of global partnerships," said John V. Gillies, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI's Miami Office. "These charges prove that our criminal investigative efforts remain unchanged and undeterred. The cooperation between the FBI, the U.S. Attorney's Office, the Italian National Police, the Miami-Dade Police Department and the Broward Sheriff's Office were instrumental to the successful outcome of this case."

These cases are being investigated by the FBI; the Broward County, Fla., Sheriff's Office; the Miami-Dade Police Department; the Italian Ministries of the Interior and Justice; and the Italian National Police. The Miami cases are being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Cynthia Stone of the Southern District of Florida and Trial Attorney Margaret Honrath of the Organized Crime and Racketeering Section. The Brooklyn case is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York. The Criminal Division's Office of International Affairs and the FBI Legal Attaché Office in Rome provided assistance in these cases.

An indictment is merely an accusation and the defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty.

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SOURCE U.S. Department of Justice