Former industry leader indicted for extortion
NEW YORK — Glenn Mazzella, a former boat dealer and one-time chairman of the Marine Retailers Association of America, was indicted last month as part of the FBI’s roundup of 127 suspected mafia members on charges of racketeering, extortion and conspiracy.
The indictment was filed in U.S. District Court against Mazzella and three other men, who it alleges conspired to steal property by extortion and instilled fear of physical injury or damage to the property of two anonymous parties.
The indictment reads in part: “(The defendants) did knowingly and intentionally conspire to steal property by extortion, in that the defendants and others agreed to obtain property, to wit: money, by compelling and inducing Jon Doe #1, an individual whose identity is known to the Grand Jury, to deliver such property, by instilling in him a fear that if the property was not so delivered, one or more persons would (1) cause physical injury to some person in the future and (2) cause damage to property, contrary to New York Penal Law.”
The court papers say that at various times, Mazzella was an associate within the Genovese crime family. According to the indictment, associates were individuals who were not members of the crime family, but who nonetheless engaged in criminal activity for, and under the protection of, the crime family.
An article in today’s New York Post details the charges and says Mazzella, who is out on bail, has asked a Brooklyn federal judge to let him travel to the Miami International Boat Show. The Post reports Mazzella currently runs a yacht brokerage in Florida.
Mazzella’s boat dealership, Glenn Family Boating Centers on Long Island’s North Shore, filed for bankruptcy in November 2009.
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