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Nora R. Dannehy, Acting United States Attorney for the
District of Connecticut, announced that DAVID MAGEL,
35, of Florida, formerly of Baldwin Place, New York,
was sentenced today by Senior United States District
Judge Ellen Bree Burns in New Haven to seven months
of imprisonment, followed by two years of supervised
release, for conspiring to violate the federal Racketeer
Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO). MAGEL
pleaded guilty to the charge on August 10, 2006.
According to documents
filed with the Court and statements made in court, MAGEL
formerly was the General Manager of CRP Carting, a carting
company located in Elmsford, New York. MAGEL has admitted
that conspired to perpetuate a system, commonly called
the "property rights system," through which
carters would not service or compete for other carters'customers.
The property rights system essentially destroys free
enterprise, allowing the participating carters to artificially
inflate their prices and leaving waste removal customers
with no other options. In this scheme, which was principally
directed at commercial and municipal customers, participating
carters agreed to quote inflated prices to customers
controlled by other carters.
According to documents
filed with the Court and statements made in court, representatives
from James Galante-owned Automated Waste Disposal ("AWD")
and affiliated companies of Danbury sought to operate
the property rights system in eastern New York. To accomplish
this goal, they spoke with MAGEL and other New York
carters and arranged a meeting in December 2004. MAGEL
then met with Ciro Viento and Richard Galietti of AWD,
and others, at a diner in Mt. Kisco, New York. At this
meeting, Galietti proposed that MAGEL and others agree
to inflate prices for New York carting services and
displayed a piece of paper that listed a suggested price.
Following the meeting, MAGEL engaged in a series of
telephone calls with Viento and Galietti concerning
their efforts to effectuate a property rights system.
On December 21, 2004, law enforcement intercepted one
conversation between MAGEL, Galietti and Viento during
which MAGEL agreed to provide inflated quotes to customers
of the other participants in the conspiracy. Stating "I'm shootin' for the, for the gusto here,"
MAGEL agreed to inflate his quotes for New York customers
serviced by other members of the conspiracy to $20 per
yard. On January 10, 2005, the FBI intercepted a call
in which MAGEL informed Viento, in light of the agreement,
he "had let two condos go."
Thirty-three individuals,
including MAGEL, Galante, Galietti and Viento, have
pleaded guilty to various federal charges stemming from
a long-term investigation into the waste-hauling industry
in Connecticut and eastern New York. James Galante currently
is serving a 78-month term of imprisonment, Viento is
serving a 30-month term and Galietti a 46-month term
for their roles in this conspiracy.
This matter was investigated
by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Internal Revenue
Service - Criminal Investigation Division, the United
States Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General
and the Connecticut State Police. Assistant United States
Attorneys Michael J. Gustafson, Raymond F. Miller, and
Henry K. Kopel are prosecuting these cases.
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