Mob Family Hit With Indictments

Saying they had broken the leadership of the most powerful mob family in the United States, federal prosecutors announced Tuesday that 19 members of the Genovese crime family had been indicted for crimes that ranged from murder to snatching dollar bills from the statue of San Gennaro at the annual Little Italy street festival.

Officials said the 60-count racketeering indictment could virtually eliminate the New York City power base of the family, considered the most sophisticated and elusive Mafia clan in the country. Three of those arrested early Tuesday were described as leaders of the family.

Federal authorities said that the 18 people arrested late Monday and early Tuesday included the three most prominent members of the Genovese family: the acting boss, Liborio Bellomo, 39; the acting underboss, Michele Generoso, 78; and the family’s consigliere, or counselor, James Ida, 56.