Joe Bruno on the Mob – Firefighter Reputed member of Bonnano Crime Family
Who is doing the screening for potential New York City Firemen? Mr. Magoo??
It seems that NY City fireman Anthony Cilento was an associate of the Bonnano Crime Family before he was made a fireman. To make matters worse, Cilento, who was assigned to Ladder 166 in Coney Island, was arrested last week by the Feds for being, "a former coke-snorting tough guy who acted as 'the muscle' for a crew that delivered drugs the way Domino's delivers pizza."
Cilento, whose nickname for some reason is "December," has also been accused of being a member of Bonnano Crime Family made man Anthony (Little Anthony) Seccafico's crew. Seccafico was gunned down at a Staten Island bus stop in 2009, in what appeared to be a mob hit.
The people of New York City expect their policemen and firemen to be above reproach, and they assume that the proper screening is done before someone is given the hat and the uniform of the New York's Bravest and New York's Finest. How Cilento, who is an obvious violent, drug-dealing bad guy, got through the cracks is mind-boggling.
A Federal monitor is expect to be appointed soon to figure out what happened in the Cilento case. It looks like when they special monitor gets his teeth into this situation, heads will roll at The NYFD.
And well they should.
The article below appeared in the New York Daily News/
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_cr...
Busted firefighter Anthony Cilento is reputed associate of the Bonanno crime family, sources say
BY John Marzulli
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
Thursday, September 1st 2011, 4:00 AM
A Brooklyn firefighter arrested by the feds for drug trafficking is also a reputed associate of the Bonanno crime family, sources told the Daily News.
Anthony Cilento managed to hide his underworld ties from FDNY screeners who cleared him to enter the Fire Academy, the sources said. He was fingered by the feds last week as a former coke-snorting tough guy who acted as "the muscle" for a crew that delivered drugs the way Domino's delivers pizza.
But news of his ties to a Bonanno wiseguy who was slain on July 2, 2009, was not revealed.
Until now.
Assigned to Ladder 166 in Coney Island, Cilento was a member of Anthony (Little Anthony) Seccafico's crew, sources said.
Seccafico was gunned down at a Staten Island bus stop in what appeared to be a mob hit. A "made member" of the Mafia cannot be killed without permission of the Bonanno hierarchy.
Sources said neither Seccafico nor his murder appear to be linked to the cocaine delivery service. No one has been charged in the gangland hit, but it remains under active investigation, sources said. Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicole Argentieri revealed at Cilento's bail hearing that the firefighter had a "very close relationship" with Seccafico.
The 27-year-old Cilento, whose nickname is December, was deeply involved in all aspects of the drug trafficking from 2002 to 2009 – and would rough up fellow members of the drug crew who stole cocaine, the feds said.
"He's a very violent individual," Argentieri told Magistrate Cheryl Pollak, according to a transcript of the hearing.
After joining the FDNY, Cilento allegedly visited a former co-conspirator in jail and urged him to keep his mouth shut and do the right thing, which the co-conspirator took as a threat, Argentieri said. Despite Cilento's apparent desire to put his criminal life behind him, his past caught up when three snitches ratted him out to the FBI.
In a financial affidavit filed in Brooklyn Federal Court, Cilento claimed he netted $2,000-a-month from the FDNY, had $12,000 in credit card debt and moonlighted at Court St. Bagels in Cobble Hill.
The feds also have charged retired NYPD cop John Avvento as being a co-conspirator of the drug crew. Avvento's lawyer, Arthur Aidala, told The News that his client does not know the firefighter.
The revelation that Cilento got past FDNY screeners comes as a federal judge is likely to appoint a special monitor for the department.
A black firefighters group, the Vulcan Society, has argued that, among other complaints, black candidates face tougher screenings than whites. Cilento is white.
jmarzulli@nydailynews.com
