BBC NEWS – US federal agents have charged 127 suspected mobsters in multiple investigations into New York’s organised crime families.

The arrests were made on Thursday morning throughout New York City, New Jersey, Rhode Island and other areas in the north-east US, FBI officials said.

The pre-dawn sweep involved over 800 federal agents and charged alleged mobsters including 34 made members of the city’s five crime families, according to the New York Times. Most of the detainees were taken to the army base at Fort Hamilton.

NEW YORK TIMES – A dozen of the indictments, naming more than 80 defendants, were handed up in Brooklyn. Among those charged, according to the indictment, were the Colombo street boss Andrew Russo, the acting underboss Benjamin Castellazzo and the consigliere Richard Fusco; and two high-ranking members of the Gambino family hierarchy: the consigliere Joseph Corozzo and the ruling panel member Bartolomeo Vernace.

They were named in a racketeering indictment that also charged four reputed captains and eight soldiers. The alleged crimes spanned two decades and include the 1993 murder of underboss Joseph Scopo; the family’s control of Local 6A of the Cement and Concrete Workers Union; and defrauding the city in connection with an annual feast, La Festa di Santa Rosalia, along 18th Avenue in Bensonhurst.

Hey, I understand the whole construction industry thing, but screwing around with The 18th Avenue Feast? That’s just fucked up. Shocked. SHOCKED, I tell you. (The deets are on page 35 of the Russo indictment.)

The good news: “By taking out the leadership of the Colombos and charging large numbers of reputed crime figures from the other families, the F.B.I. and federal prosecutors hoped the case would have a significant impact,” continues the NY Times.

Awesome! Because when the Sicilian mafia is gone, it will mark the end of organized crime in South Brooklyn.

The lights are up and the posters are up: the 33rd Feast of Santa Rosalia, the annual 11-day festival through the heart of Bensonhurst (18th Avenue, from 68th Street to 75th Street), begins on Thursday, August 26, and runs every night from 6pm to 10pm until Sunday, September 5.

Coincidentally, my diet will be starting on Monday, September 6.

Judging by the light placement, I think this year’s Feast may have been trimmed a block, from 67th Street to 68th Street. After all, the Bloomberg Administraion did say earlier in the year that they would be trimming all parades and street festivals to save a few lira in police overtime. I haven’t had a chance to confirm this, but if this observation is correct, then I think our Feast got off the hook lightly. Going from eight blocks to seven is nothing when compared to completely owning the street for four hours, eleven days straight.

Bring on the zeppole!

Photo collage: Brian Hedden

The Feast on 18th Avenue was into its eighth day last night, and its still going strong. You’ve got three more chances to get your fill of braciole and zeppole and Italia t-shirts – the Santa Rosalia festival runs through Sunday, September 6.

According to the event’s promotional flyer: a “solemn procession” begins on Sunday at 2pm at 72nd Street, and by that, I mean if your Italian is better than Google’s, please feel free to chime in.

Here are some more scenes from the opening night of the Santa Rosalia Feast last Thursday.

Food…

…games…

…and rides.

Only posting a few photos today – life is intervening and I don’t have a lot of time to write this post. Consider it a tease for the photos to come.

The 32nd Feast of Santa Rosalia – a ten-day street festival through the heart of Bensonhurst – begins this Thursday. It runs down 18th Avenue, starting at 68th Street and running down to 75th Street. 6:00-10:00pm every night. Here are a few quick notes before you go:

• Santa Rosalia: The patron saint of Palermo.
• Lucy’s: The patron saint of pork sausage.
• Zeppole: An Italian pastry with an inverse relationship between cost and calories. If you’re like me and trying to shed a pound or forty, I recommend sharing an order with a friend or two What the hell, it’s only ten days.

• No sooner do I write about the high surf at Brighton Beach last night, than the City closes it’s Atlantic-facing beaches, including Brighton and Coney, through the weekend due to dangerous surf conditions brought about by Hurricane Bill.  (Daily News, Sheepshead Bites)

• A public service announcement from yours truly – The Feast of Santa Rosalia, the 10-day festival that runs down Bensonhurst’s 18th Avenue from 67th Street to Bay Ridge Parkway (75th St), begins on Thursday, August 27. I haven’t confirmed yet, but if it is anything like the last two years, the street fair will be open from 6pm-10pm each night.

• Thor Equities has shut down the rent-a-carnival that sits on the Astroland lot for failure to pay rent. (Brooklyn Paper)

“Dreamland has been locked out because it has not come close to meeting its financial obligations in many months,” said Stefan Friedman, a spokesman for Thor Equities.

Translation: “We tried to have amusement rides here, we rlly rlly rlly rlly tried, but there’s just no money in them. We have NO CHOICE but to build condos hotels! Rlly!” It’s hard to say since he’s passed away and can no longer refresh our memories, but didn’t Bob Guskind over at Gowanus Lounge have this development pegged almost a year ago? If I’m wrong, I’ll take it back, but if someone has a better memory and/or linkage, please let me know.