A pair of sentences in Galante case - Westfair Communications

Two more associates of Danbury trash hauler James Galante were sentenced in New Haven federal court on charges stemming from the government”™s investigation into Galante”™s carting operations in western Connecticut and eastern New York state.

Joseph J. Milo Sr., 64, of Mamaroneck, N.Y., was given two years probation, the first six months of which he will be confined to his home with electronic monitoring, and fined $52,000 after pleading guilty a year ago to one count of conspiring to defraud the Internal Revenue Service.

And Jason Manafort, 37, of Southington, was sentenced to one month in prison, three years of supervised release with the first five months under house arrest with electronic monitoring, and a fine of $15,000.

Manafort is an owner and operator of CWPM, a Plainville carting company. He pleaded guilty this past June to one count of destruction of property to prevent its seizure. According to documents and statements made in court on Aug. 30, federal law enforcement officers searched CWPM offices on July 20, 2005, with a search and seizure warrant. The search was on the second day of searches being executed in connection with the government”™s investigation of Galante”™s businesses. Manafort admitted he had removed a computer from his office and discarded it to prevent federal authorities from seizing it.

Federal District Judge Ellen Bree Burns, citing the “charitable works” of Manafort and his company, sentenced him below the recommended federal guidelines of 10 months to 16 months in prison. The one-month prison term, she said, will make “the public to be aware how serious we take interference with the justice system.”

Mob tax

Milo was indicted separately from 29 other individuals charged in June of 2006 with various federal violations in connection with Galante”™s carting operations. A superseding indictment this past June brought the total to 33 individuals.

According to papers filed with the court and statements made in court on Aug. 29, Milo was put on the payroll of Galante”™s main business, Automated Waste Disposal in Danbury, between 2000 and 2006 for a “no-show” job for which he received weekly paychecks through the mail.

During that time Milo would travel to Danbury every three months and collect $20,000 in cash and deliver the “mob tax” to Matthew “Matty the Horse” Ianniello on Long Island. Earlier this year, Ianniello, 86, was sentenced to 24 months in prison after pleading guilty to one count of conspiring to violate the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) and one count of conspiring to defraud the IRS.

Milo is the younger brother of Thomas Milo, 69, also of Mamaroneck, whom the government alleges is an associate of the Genovese Organized Crime Family. Thomas Milo is Galante”™s business partner, and has been charged with racketeering conspiracy and extortion.

Galante faces 93 counts of violations of federal law, including racketeering, extortion, wire fraud and witness tampering. He and Thomas Milo own Automated Waste Disposal and several affiliates and subsidiary companies.