Yesterday, the federal authorities raided an alleged Garment District boiler room operation and arrested a suspected member of the Bonnano crime family and six others. According to the Wall Street Journal, Anthony Guarino, an alleged Bonanno foot soldier, "was accused of masterminding an alleged 10-year investment scam that hoodwinked mostly elderly investors out of more than $12 million." And another man arrested was "formerly employed by the Securities and Exchange Commission."
The feds, who also arrested people in Pennsylvania and Florida, claim that the suspects targeted their prey through phone calls and pressured investors to buy shares in various companies, including Realcast whose president Steve Kimmel (the former SEC employee) was arrested. Forty percent of the "investment" went to members of the boiler room, located on West 36th Street (at the office of "Powercom Energy Services Corp"), and was never invested.
NBC New York reports, "In one case, suspect Jamil Fuller is accused of stealing the $50,000 dollars invested by one elderly client. The entire investment is lost, officials said. In other cases, suspects allegedly claimed the firm was about to merge and their investment would soar in value. Instead, the suspects allegedly looted the cash. And in another case, court papers state 50 percent of one $700,000 investment was split between some of the suspects."
Guarino's lawyer said his client was not involved with the mob and he's been "doing legitimate business for a very long time" and that the claims "can be explained."
