User:BuffCity

= Possible Buffalo Mob Activity =

I:Team Story
CBS Chanel 8 in Vegas in an article from June 2012 indicates Paul Citelli, arrested in a HOA scan, is a Buffalo crime family member. The article from the I-Team and called "More Targets in HOA Conspiracy" by: George Knapp, Matt Adams. It was posted: Jun 01, 2012 04:13 PM PDT and updated: Jun 01, 2012 04:38 PM PDT LAS VEGAS -- Twenty five people have now admitted their guilt in a massive political corruption conspiracy involving a dozen local homeowner associations, but the case is far from over.

Federal lawmen say the investigation is ongoing and as many as a dozen additional targets are in their crosshairs.

...

The History of the HOA Scandal

''Defendant Paul Citelli found himself bouncing like a ping pong ball between two I-Team cameras. The HOA mess is not his first trouble with the law. The FBI thinks he's affiliated with the Buffalo mob. The Review-Journal's John Smith reported last year that Citelli was part of a huge Mafia cocaine ring back in the 1980s.'' Here is a link to the Video this article was taken from. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCw3ZUERVZI3D007mjhg-WZw  Here is a link to a copy of the article: http://www.ccfj.net/TVCH8ITEAMConspiracy.html  I was disappointed that I went back to CBS channel 8 and I cannot find the original link.

Jeff German Story in Las Vegas Journal Review
Jeff German, a reporter for the Las Vegas Journal Review, writes a section titled "Possible Mob Ties"  in an article titled "Lawyer kick-started massive HOA probe with private investigation," from July 13, 2013. He writes: "According to the FBI affidavit, one witness told investigators there were “rumors” that Benzer’s now-defunct company, Silver Lining Construction, was controlled by the New York Mob and had helped Quon set up her law firm.

A potential target said during a secretly recorded conversation that Benzer, 46, thought of himself as a “Soprano,” a reference to the HBO series about organized crime.

''The target told the informant that people thought Benzer was “in the mob” because of his association with attorneys John V. Spilotro and Mark Kulla. Spilotro is the nephew of Anthony Spilotro, the slain overseer of street rackets in Las Vegas for the Chicago mob in the 1970s and 1980s.''

Investigators also disclosed they were aware that a key player in one of the HOA takeovers, Paul Citelli, was known to have ties to the Buffalo mob.

''One of Benzer’s top associates told an informant that Benzer maintained that he was not connected to the mob and preferred to think of himself as “just a bully,” the affidavit states. Both Benzer and his “right-hand man,” Ralph Priola, according to the affidavit, would be seen around town with armed bodyguards, which concerned investigators for the safety of their informants"''.

John L. Smith Story in Las Vegas Journal Review
John L Smith of the Las Vegas Journal Review asks the question who is Joe Bravo in his article from June 10, 2012 called "Familiar faces show up in HOA probe." In this article he states: "It’s a question some members of local law enforcement have asked for years. For the record, Joseph Angelo Bravo is a convicted drug trafficker who was sentenced to 87 months in 1993 for his role in a cocaine importing ring with ties to the Buffalo mob.

''The Niagara Falls-to-Las Vegas distribution network was accused of distributing 400 kilos of cocaine between 1986 and 1990. A lengthy investigation compiled 2,500 wiretap conversations, recordings whose legality was vigorously but unsuccessfully challenged by defense lawyers Oscar Goodman and David Chesnoff. The 16 defendants pleaded guilty before trial.''

''I was reminded of that old case May 31 when Paul Citelli entered U.S. District Judge James Mahan’s courtroom and took his place among the 14 latest defendants to plead guilty in the HOA scandal. Citelli, a Southern Nevada limousine driver, was one of Bravo’s partners in the cocaine distribution ring back in the years authorities believed the Buffalo mob was the dominant La Cosa Nostra family on the streets of Las Vegas.''

''At the time of Citelli’s 1993 sentencing, he apologized to U.S. District Judge Lloyd George for his transgression and received a break. Faced with a potential 27-year prison term, Citelli caught only seven." He then questions Bravo's dealings with Chestnoff and their partnership in an airport in Baja Sur California. He writes: "Defense attorneys Chesnoff and Marty Keach are listed in real estate records as partners in land deals with Bravo both locally and in Mexico. Down in Baja California Sur, their friend Joe’s name and criminal history have splashed in the press in association with their Punta Arena de la Ventana resort and the management of a private airport outside La Paz.''

What’s a convicted drug trafficker doing managing a Mexican airport?

''That’s a question skeptical reporters asked in 2010. They’ve also wondered about Bravo’s cordial relationship with then-Baja Sur Gov. Narciso Agundez Montano.''

I might ask for Agundez to vouch for Bravo’s character, but the former governor was just arrested in late May on public corruption charges".

Second Jeff German Article
In another Las Vegas Journal Review article by Jeff German called "Target of Las Vegas HOA investigation detailed scheme, bribes in secret documents" from October 30, 2104 writes: Investigators in 2011 also asked Benzer about possible mob involvement in the HOA takeover scheme.

In one interview, Benzer said he was friends with Joseph A. Bravo, a Las Vegas ticket broker who received an 87-month federal prison term in 1993 for his role in a cocaine trafficking ring with alleged ties to the Buffalo mob.

Benzer said he met Bravo through lawyer John V. Spilotro, the nephew of Anthony “The Ant” Spilotro, the Chicago mob’s infamous overseer of street rackets in Las Vegas until his murder in 1986.

''Bravo’s nephew, real estate agent Anthony R. Wilson, pleaded guilty in the HOA investigation. So did limousine driver Paul Citelli, who was convicted with Bravo in the 1993 cocaine case.''

Benzer told investigators that he didn’t believe Bravo had mob ties, but admitted that Bravo had loaned him as much as $20,000 and turned him on to hard money lenders as the scheme progressed.

''Before sitting down with Benzer, Justice Department lawyers agreed not to use anything he said against him at trial if the negotiations fell through. But they were free to corroborate the wealth of information they got from Benzer with other witnesses''. Here is the link to this article: https://www.reviewjournal.com/local/local-las-vegas/target-of-las-vegas-hoa-investigation-detailed-scheme-bribes-in-secret-documents/