Gambino Mob Lawyer Headed for the Slammer
Jim Kouri, CPP
October 02, 2005
A Brooklyn, New York grand jury handed a federal prosecutor an indictment charging defense attorney Larry Bronson and Gambino family associate Steven Kaplan with racketeering conspiracy, including acts of witness tampering, bribery, and obstruction of justice. Bronson is also charged with contempt of court. The defendants were arrested and then arraigned before United States District Judge Nicholas G. Garaufis at Brooklyn's federal courthouse.
According to the indictment and a detention memorandum by the government, Bronson used his position as an attorney to unlawfully assist La Cosa Nostra in its criminal activities and to obstruct justice on its behalf. Specifically, Bronson, together with Kaplan, who is a known associate of the Gambino family, engaged in repeated acts of witness intimidation and efforts at bribery in connection with an investigation and prosecution of crimes -- including interstate prostitution, wire fraud, money laundering, loansharking, and extortion -- involving the Gold Club, a strip club owned and operated by Kaplan in Atlanta, Georgia.
As alleged in the indictment, Bronson used his role as an attorney to help members of La Cosa Nostra use threats and intimidation to tamper with individuals subpoenaed to testify in the grand jury, and he attempted to bribe witnesses to testify untruthfully to the grand jury and at trial.
Bronson is suspected of: coaching Gold Club employees who had been subpoenaed to the grand jury; bribing a Gambino associate they suspected of cooperating to ensure his silence; and threatening to reveal a witness's extra-marital activities to his wife if he was truthful in the grand jury.
These criminal acts were initially designed to prevent Kaplan from being indicted, and, after he was indicted and brought to trial on racketeering charges, to influence the outcome of the trial. Eventually, Kaplan pled guilty to racketeering.
Bronson is also charged with hosting meetings in his Manhattan law office attended by members of organized crime who were on supervised release and under court order not to associate with each other. Also, Bronson is charged with disseminating to organized crime members information about individuals he believed were cooperating with the federal government in organized crime cases.
"The charges reveal a sordid partnership between a mob associate and a member of the bar association, both of whom were working to the detriment of the criminal justice system. The men and women of the FBI have zero tolerance for this type of behavior and will always seek to bring those who engage in it to justice," says FBI Assistant Director Mark Mershon
Sources claim that the government has a solid case and if convicted of this racketeering conspiracy, Bronson and Kaplan face a maximum sentence of 20 years imprisonment and a $250,000 fine.
According to the indictment and a detention memorandum by the government, Bronson used his position as an attorney to unlawfully assist La Cosa Nostra in its criminal activities and to obstruct justice on its behalf. Specifically, Bronson, together with Kaplan, who is a known associate of the Gambino family, engaged in repeated acts of witness intimidation and efforts at bribery in connection with an investigation and prosecution of crimes -- including interstate prostitution, wire fraud, money laundering, loansharking, and extortion -- involving the Gold Club, a strip club owned and operated by Kaplan in Atlanta, Georgia.
As alleged in the indictment, Bronson used his role as an attorney to help members of La Cosa Nostra use threats and intimidation to tamper with individuals subpoenaed to testify in the grand jury, and he attempted to bribe witnesses to testify untruthfully to the grand jury and at trial.
Bronson is suspected of: coaching Gold Club employees who had been subpoenaed to the grand jury; bribing a Gambino associate they suspected of cooperating to ensure his silence; and threatening to reveal a witness's extra-marital activities to his wife if he was truthful in the grand jury.
These criminal acts were initially designed to prevent Kaplan from being indicted, and, after he was indicted and brought to trial on racketeering charges, to influence the outcome of the trial. Eventually, Kaplan pled guilty to racketeering.
Bronson is also charged with hosting meetings in his Manhattan law office attended by members of organized crime who were on supervised release and under court order not to associate with each other. Also, Bronson is charged with disseminating to organized crime members information about individuals he believed were cooperating with the federal government in organized crime cases.
"The charges reveal a sordid partnership between a mob associate and a member of the bar association, both of whom were working to the detriment of the criminal justice system. The men and women of the FBI have zero tolerance for this type of behavior and will always seek to bring those who engage in it to justice," says FBI Assistant Director Mark Mershon
Sources claim that the government has a solid case and if convicted of this racketeering conspiracy, Bronson and Kaplan face a maximum sentence of 20 years imprisonment and a $250,000 fine.
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