The brother-in-law of Danbury trash magnate James Galante was sentenced to 21 months in federal prison for his role in helping a mob-enforced system that has dominated the carting industry in western Connecticut and eastern New York state.
Paul DiNardo, 49, of Danbury had pleaded guilty last December to one count of conspiring to violate the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO). According to documents filed in U.S. District Court in New Haven, DiNardo furthered the conspiracy to inflate prices for commercial and municipal customers, admitted he knew the system was enforced through extortion and threats, and even participated in the threats, meeting a carter in a parking lot and telling him that “a peaceful world is a better place for everybody.”
DiNardo”™s defense presented him as a family man who volunteered his time for youth sports in the community. A senior U. S. district judge sentenced him to the 21-month prison term followed by two years of supervised release and fined him $5,000. Until recently, DiNardo was vice president and acting CEO of Galante”™s trash-hauling companies, which the government seized and then placed federal marshals in charge of overseeing the operations. Galante is under house arrest at his New Fairfield home.
Â
Â
