Reputed Gambino Underboss Arrested In Brooklyn In Connection With Italian Extortion Case

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Police have arrested the reputed underboss of the Gambino crime family in Brooklyn after he allegedly tried to extort more than $1 million from an Italian businessman.

Italian law enforcement officials tracked down Francesco Palmeri, 61, in New York, and investigators from both the U.S. and Italy moved in to arrest him, 1010 WINS' Juliet Papa reported.

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Palmeri allegedly traveled twice to Italy to bully the businessman to pay up on a supposed $1.23 million loan made in the 1980s. The executive also received threatening letters signed by "friends in Brooklyn," authorities said.

Palmeri was among eight reputed mobsters who were arrested in connection with the investigation.

He was jailed in Manhattan on Thursday, Papa reported.

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