![]() ![]() In a 2017 letter to the newspaper, he denied pocketing development money and described the Toby Keith closures as nothing "other than the product of a business failure." The Republic in 2017 documented Capri's transition from gangster to witness to businessman.Ĭapri maintains stories about his past were "false and defamatory" but has offered no proof to support his claims. In exchange for his cooperation, federal prosecutors erased Gioia’s past as a murderer, drug dealer, gun runner and leg breaker. They rewarded him with a new identity and enrolled him in the Federal Witness Protection Program. He helped clear several unsolved murders. His cooperation with law enforcement led to the conviction of more than 70 Mafia members - soldiers, captains, capos and bosses - in the 1990s and 2000s. Mafia historians call him one of the most important government witnesses ever to testify against the mob. He rose to become a "made man" in New York City's notorious Lucchese Crime Family. He was born Frank Gioia Jr., a third-generation mobster. Patrick Breen, Arizona Republic A MOBSTER'S VIOLENT HISTORYįrank Capri didn't exist until 1999, when the federal government gave him his name, Social Security number and a 1967 birthday. "He handled all the trades (sub-contractors) and all the money." "Rascal Flatts, this was all Frank," said Ray Roshto, owner of Ussher Construction in Glendale. He also threatened to sic lawyers on developers who didn't bend to his will. Working behind the scenes, Capri oversaw hiring, firing, employee payments, permits, construction schedules and collection of development fees. He isn't listed on business licenses, liquor applications or building permits filed in cities across the country.īut an investigation by The Arizona Republic found Capri controlled key aspects of the projects before they, too, collapsed.Ĭapri relied on his girlfriend and her business associate to front the restaurants, phone recordings, text messages, documents and interviews show. ![]() In lawsuits, developers claimed he stiffed contractors, broke lease agreements and took millions of dollars meant to pay for construction.Ĭapri's name does not appear on corporate documents tied to the Rascal Flatts restaurants. The Ndrangheta is based in the southern region of Calabria, the toe of Italy’s boot, and has surpassed Sicily’s more famous Cosa Nostra to become the most powerful organized crime group in the country - and one of the largest in the world.It's not likely developers looking to add Rascal Flatts restaurants to their lineup of urban eateries would sign a contract with Frank Capri.Ī simple Google search would show them Capri was behind the epic failure of another country-themed restaurant chain: Toby Keith's I Love This Bar and Grill.Ĭapri's Phoenix companies built 20 Toby Keith restaurants beginning in 2009 and announced plans to build 20 more that never opened. Police in Bavaria said in a statement that police and tax investigators in Augsburg had been investigating the case for more than a year, under the leadership of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office. They are accused of forming a criminal organization and of tax evasion worth millions of euros. The synchronized raids were the result of a European investigation into a group, some of whom belong to the “Ndrangheta,” the most powerful mafia group in Italy. They said they would release more information after the raids had been completed.įor the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app. Police in Germany, Italy, and Bulgaria raided 46 residential and commercial buildings on Wednesday as part of a European probe into the Italian mafia, German police said. ![]()
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