Rudaj Organization
Encyclopedia
The Rudaj Organization was the name given the Albanian mafia
in the New York City
metro area, so named for the man accused of being its kingpin, Alex Rudaj of Yorktown, New York
. The Rudaj Organization, called "The Corporation" by its members, was started in 1993 in Westchester
and spread to the Bronx and Queens
. Prosecutors say the Albanian gang was headed by Alex Rudaj, Nikola Dedaj and an Italian
named Nardino Colotti who had ties to the late Gambino
soldier Skinny Phil Loscalzo.
is the alleged boss of the Albanian mafia's Rudaj Organization, based in the New York City
metro area. Rudaj is an ethnic Albanian
from Ulcinj
, Montenegro
who immigrated to the United States
more than a decade ago. Federal prosecutors said Rudaj was the triggerman in a 1993 shooting of another organized crime
figure after a high-speed chase in the Bronx
. Rudaj hung out the sunroof of a car and fired at Guy Peduto as he fled in another car from Rudaj and three others. They also described an incident where Rudaj showed up with 20 thugs to get late mob boss John Gotti
's table at Rao's
, the legendary and exclusive East Harlem Italian
restaurant. On Friday, June 16, 2006, Alex Rudaj, 38, was sentenced to 27 years in federal prison for racketeering, extortion and gambling offenses.
Nikolla Dedaj (Nicky Nails, Big Nick, Nikol) of Yonkers, New York
, is the alleged co-leader of the Albanian mafia Rudaj Organization.According to evidence at trial, armed members of the Rudaj Organization met with members of the Gambino crime family
, led by Arnold Squitieri
.
Nardino Colotti (born 1963) of the Bronx
, New York, is an Italian American
protégé of the late Gambino
soldier Phil (Skinny Phil) Loscalzo and co-leader of the Albanian Mafia Rudaj Organization. In addition to gambling dens in Queens
, New York, the Rudaj Organization (known as the "Corporation" to members) ran gambling operations in Mount Vernon
and Port Chester
. Nardino Colotti's group had a gambling joint on Adee Street in Port Chester and forced bar owners in Mount Vernon to install their illegal gambling machines. In one instance, Colotti's group tried to force Salvatore Misale, the owner of Puerto Roja in Mount Vernon, to hand over his bar to the Corporation. Misale went to law enforcement authorities in 1999 after he endured a beating at a Bronx cafe over his refusal to hand over the keys to the bar. Nardino Colotti bit Misale's ear as he beat and cursed at him, while Nikola Dedaj waved a gun in his face, threatening to shoot.
. Kelly neglected to mention a smaller Albanian-Italian drug smuggling operation indicted by federal authorities in Brooklyn since 1981, from which known crime associate was also charged but only received 2 years at sentencing. Several of the defendants indicted in the case are not Albanian - the organization has soldiers that are Greek, and Italian - but most of the defendants in the case were either native Albanians or first-generation Albanian-Americans.
During a bail hearing for one of the two dozen people arrested in the case, Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy Treanor said that the Albanian mob had taken over the operations of the Lucchese family in Astoria, Queens. Rudaj lead an attack in August 2001 on two Greek associates of the Lucchese crime family
who ran a gambling racket inside a Greek social club called Soccer Fever at 26-80 30th St. in Queens. On August 3, 2001 Rudaj and at least six other men entered the club with guns, beating one of the men in the head with a pistol and chasing others out of the neighborhood by threatening to destroy the building.
In court, jurors heard evidence of a gangland showdown between Rudaj and a leader of the Gambino crime family
. It happened at a gas station in New Jersey, a few days before the fight at Soccer Fever. Arnold Squitieri
, then the acting boss of the Gambino family, had sought a meeting with Rudaj, prosecutors said.
Gambino leader Arnold Squitieri had had enough and wanted a talk with these rogue mobsters. The "sit down" took place at a gas station in a rest area near the New Jersey turnpike. Twenty armed Gambino mobsters accompanied Squitieri. Alex Rudaj on the other hand had only managed to bring six members of his crew. According to undercover FBI agent Joaquin Garcia, who infiltrated the Gambino crime family during this period, Squitieri told Rudaj that the fun was over and that they should stop expanding their operations. The Albanians and Gambinos then pulled out their weapons. Knowing they were outnumbered, the Albanians threatened to blow up the gas station with all of them in it. This ended the discussion, and both groups pulled back.
By 2006 all of the main players involved in this "sit down" were in prison. Rudaj and his Sixth Family had been picked off the street in October 2004 and charged with a variety of racketeering and gambling charges. After a trial Rudaj and his main lieutenants were all found guilty. In 2006 Rudaj, at that time 38-years-old, was sentenced to 27 years in prison. His rival Arnold Squitieri was convicted in an unrelated racketeering case and was sent to prison for seven years.
"What we have here might be considered a sixth crime family," after the five Mafia organizations — Bonanno, Colombo, Gambino, Genovese and Lucchese — said Fred Snelling, head of the FBI's criminal division in New York although this later proved to be an overstatment as court documents proceeded to prove that they were no more of a glorified street crew.
To date, over 20 members of the Rudaj organization have been charged with various crimes. Six of its top leaders, including Alex Rudaj himself, have been convicted. Ten more have pled guilty.
Albanian mafia
The Albanian Mafia or Albanian organized crime are the general terms used for criminal organizations based in Albania or composed of ethnic Albanians. Albanian organized crime is active in Albania, the United States, and the European Union countries, participating in a diverse range of criminal...
in the New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
metro area, so named for the man accused of being its kingpin, Alex Rudaj of Yorktown, New York
Yorktown, New York
Yorktown is a town in Westchester County, New York, in the suburbs of New York about north of midtown Manhattan. The town lies on the north border of Westchester County...
. The Rudaj Organization, called "The Corporation" by its members, was started in 1993 in Westchester
Westchester County, New York
Westchester County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. Westchester covers an area of and has a population of 949,113 according to the 2010 Census, residing in 45 municipalities...
and spread to the Bronx and Queens
Queens
Queens is the easternmost of the five boroughs of New York City. The largest borough in area and the second-largest in population, it is coextensive with Queens County, an administrative division of New York state, in the United States....
. Prosecutors say the Albanian gang was headed by Alex Rudaj, Nikola Dedaj and an Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
named Nardino Colotti who had ties to the late Gambino
Gambino
Gambino is an Italian surname. Notable persons with that surname include:*Carlo Gambino, New York mobster and former boss of the family that takes his name; Gambino crime family*Emanuel Gambino, New York mobster and nephew of Carlo Gambino...
soldier Skinny Phil Loscalzo.
Organization
Alex Rudaj (also known as Allie Boy, Uncle Rudaj, Xhaxhai, Sandro Rudovic) of Yorktown, New YorkYorktown, New York
Yorktown is a town in Westchester County, New York, in the suburbs of New York about north of midtown Manhattan. The town lies on the north border of Westchester County...
is the alleged boss of the Albanian mafia's Rudaj Organization, based in the New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
metro area. Rudaj is an ethnic Albanian
Albanians
Albanians are a nation and ethnic group native to Albania and neighbouring countries. They speak the Albanian language. More than half of all Albanians live in Albania and Kosovo...
from Ulcinj
Ulcinj
Ulcinj is a coastal resort town and municipality in Montenegro. The town of Ulcinj has a population of 10,828 of which the majority are Albanians...
, Montenegro
Montenegro
Montenegro Montenegrin: Crna Gora Црна Гора , meaning "Black Mountain") is a country located in Southeastern Europe. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea to the south-west and is bordered by Croatia to the west, Bosnia and Herzegovina to the northwest, Serbia to the northeast and Albania to the...
who immigrated to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
more than a decade ago. Federal prosecutors said Rudaj was the triggerman in a 1993 shooting of another organized crime
Organized crime
Organized crime or criminal organizations are transnational, national, or local groupings of highly centralized enterprises run by criminals for the purpose of engaging in illegal activity, most commonly for monetary profit. Some criminal organizations, such as terrorist organizations, are...
figure after a high-speed chase in the Bronx
The Bronx
The Bronx is the northernmost of the five boroughs of New York City. It is also known as Bronx County, the last of the 62 counties of New York State to be incorporated...
. Rudaj hung out the sunroof of a car and fired at Guy Peduto as he fled in another car from Rudaj and three others. They also described an incident where Rudaj showed up with 20 thugs to get late mob boss John Gotti
John Gotti
John Joseph Gotti, Jr was an American mobster who became the Boss of the Gambino crime family in New York City. Gotti grew up in poverty. He and his brothers turned to a life of crime at an early age...
's table at Rao's
Rao's
Rao's is an Italian restaurant founded in 1896 and located at 455 East 114th Street in East Harlem, New York City, with a sister restaurant in Las Vegas, NV.-History:...
, the legendary and exclusive East Harlem Italian
Italian cuisine
Italian cuisine has developed through centuries of social and political changes, with roots as far back as the 4th century BCE. Italian cuisine in itself takes heavy influences, including Etruscan, ancient Greek, ancient Roman, Byzantine, Jewish and Arab cuisines...
restaurant. On Friday, June 16, 2006, Alex Rudaj, 38, was sentenced to 27 years in federal prison for racketeering, extortion and gambling offenses.
Nikolla Dedaj (Nicky Nails, Big Nick, Nikol) of Yonkers, New York
Yonkers, New York
Yonkers is the fourth most populous city in the state of New York , and the most populous city in Westchester County, with a population of 195,976...
, is the alleged co-leader of the Albanian mafia Rudaj Organization.According to evidence at trial, armed members of the Rudaj Organization met with members of the Gambino crime family
Gambino crime family
The Gambino crime family is one of the "Five Families" that dominates organized crime activities in New York City, United States, within the nationwide criminal phenomenon known as the Mafia . The group is named after Carlo Gambino, boss of the family at the time of the McClellan hearings in 1963...
, led by Arnold Squitieri
Arnold Squitieri
Arnold "Squiggy" Ezekiel Squitieri of Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey is a convicted drug dealer and former acting boss and current Underboss of the Gambino crime family. He is also known as "Zeke", "Bozey", and "Squitty".-Murder charge:...
.
Nardino Colotti (born 1963) of the Bronx
The Bronx
The Bronx is the northernmost of the five boroughs of New York City. It is also known as Bronx County, the last of the 62 counties of New York State to be incorporated...
, New York, is an Italian American
Italian American
An Italian American , is an American of Italian ancestry. The designation may also refer to someone possessing Italian and American dual citizenship...
protégé of the late Gambino
Gambino
Gambino is an Italian surname. Notable persons with that surname include:*Carlo Gambino, New York mobster and former boss of the family that takes his name; Gambino crime family*Emanuel Gambino, New York mobster and nephew of Carlo Gambino...
soldier Phil (Skinny Phil) Loscalzo and co-leader of the Albanian Mafia Rudaj Organization. In addition to gambling dens in Queens
Queens
Queens is the easternmost of the five boroughs of New York City. The largest borough in area and the second-largest in population, it is coextensive with Queens County, an administrative division of New York state, in the United States....
, New York, the Rudaj Organization (known as the "Corporation" to members) ran gambling operations in Mount Vernon
Mount Vernon, New York
Mount Vernon is a city in Westchester County, New York, United States. It lies on the border of the New York City borough of The Bronx.-Overview:...
and Port Chester
Port Chester, New York
Port Chester is a village in Westchester County, New York, United States. The village is part of the town of Rye. As of the 2010 census, Port Chester had a population of 28,967...
. Nardino Colotti's group had a gambling joint on Adee Street in Port Chester and forced bar owners in Mount Vernon to install their illegal gambling machines. In one instance, Colotti's group tried to force Salvatore Misale, the owner of Puerto Roja in Mount Vernon, to hand over his bar to the Corporation. Misale went to law enforcement authorities in 1999 after he endured a beating at a Bronx cafe over his refusal to hand over the keys to the bar. Nardino Colotti bit Misale's ear as he beat and cursed at him, while Nikola Dedaj waved a gun in his face, threatening to shoot.
Federal Prosecution
On October 26, 2004, the FBI and Manhattan U.S. Attorney David Kelley announced the arrest of the group's alleged boss, Alex Rudaj, and 21 other reputed gang members charged in the indictment. Kelley's office said it believes the indictment is the first federal racketeering case in the United States against an alleged organized crime enterprise run by AlbaniansAlbanians
Albanians are a nation and ethnic group native to Albania and neighbouring countries. They speak the Albanian language. More than half of all Albanians live in Albania and Kosovo...
. Kelly neglected to mention a smaller Albanian-Italian drug smuggling operation indicted by federal authorities in Brooklyn since 1981, from which known crime associate was also charged but only received 2 years at sentencing. Several of the defendants indicted in the case are not Albanian - the organization has soldiers that are Greek, and Italian - but most of the defendants in the case were either native Albanians or first-generation Albanian-Americans.
During a bail hearing for one of the two dozen people arrested in the case, Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy Treanor said that the Albanian mob had taken over the operations of the Lucchese family in Astoria, Queens. Rudaj lead an attack in August 2001 on two Greek associates of the Lucchese crime family
Lucchese crime family
The Lucchese crime family is one of the "Five Families" that dominates organized crime activities in New York City, United States, within the nationwide criminal phenomenon known as the Mafia . The family originated in the early 1920s with Gaetano "Tommy" Reina serving as boss up until his murder...
who ran a gambling racket inside a Greek social club called Soccer Fever at 26-80 30th St. in Queens. On August 3, 2001 Rudaj and at least six other men entered the club with guns, beating one of the men in the head with a pistol and chasing others out of the neighborhood by threatening to destroy the building.
In court, jurors heard evidence of a gangland showdown between Rudaj and a leader of the Gambino crime family
Gambino crime family
The Gambino crime family is one of the "Five Families" that dominates organized crime activities in New York City, United States, within the nationwide criminal phenomenon known as the Mafia . The group is named after Carlo Gambino, boss of the family at the time of the McClellan hearings in 1963...
. It happened at a gas station in New Jersey, a few days before the fight at Soccer Fever. Arnold Squitieri
Arnold Squitieri
Arnold "Squiggy" Ezekiel Squitieri of Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey is a convicted drug dealer and former acting boss and current Underboss of the Gambino crime family. He is also known as "Zeke", "Bozey", and "Squitty".-Murder charge:...
, then the acting boss of the Gambino family, had sought a meeting with Rudaj, prosecutors said.
Gambino leader Arnold Squitieri had had enough and wanted a talk with these rogue mobsters. The "sit down" took place at a gas station in a rest area near the New Jersey turnpike. Twenty armed Gambino mobsters accompanied Squitieri. Alex Rudaj on the other hand had only managed to bring six members of his crew. According to undercover FBI agent Joaquin Garcia, who infiltrated the Gambino crime family during this period, Squitieri told Rudaj that the fun was over and that they should stop expanding their operations. The Albanians and Gambinos then pulled out their weapons. Knowing they were outnumbered, the Albanians threatened to blow up the gas station with all of them in it. This ended the discussion, and both groups pulled back.
By 2006 all of the main players involved in this "sit down" were in prison. Rudaj and his Sixth Family had been picked off the street in October 2004 and charged with a variety of racketeering and gambling charges. After a trial Rudaj and his main lieutenants were all found guilty. In 2006 Rudaj, at that time 38-years-old, was sentenced to 27 years in prison. His rival Arnold Squitieri was convicted in an unrelated racketeering case and was sent to prison for seven years.
"What we have here might be considered a sixth crime family," after the five Mafia organizations — Bonanno, Colombo, Gambino, Genovese and Lucchese — said Fred Snelling, head of the FBI's criminal division in New York although this later proved to be an overstatment as court documents proceeded to prove that they were no more of a glorified street crew.
To date, over 20 members of the Rudaj organization have been charged with various crimes. Six of its top leaders, including Alex Rudaj himself, have been convicted. Ten more have pled guilty.