April 23, 2020 — Genovese crime family captain Eugene (Rooster) Onofrio was released from prison this week after serving almost two years on a racketeering conviction stemming from the 2016 “East Coast LCN” enterprise case. The 77-year old Onofrio is in charge of Genovese affairs in Springfield, Massachusetts, a longtime outpost for the New York borgata, and activity in Little Italy in Manhattan. He was let out two weeks early due to concerns over the Coronavirus. Back in 2018, he pleaded guilty to the charges, which included brokering a $30,000 loan to Springfield mob figures at a pizza parlor. Onofrio resides in Connecticut. An undercover FBI agent infiltrated his inner circle back in the 2010s, rising to the role of Onofrio’s driver. A 2014 FBI wire caught him boasting of being the “skipper” of Springfield and planning on putting fourth a group of Western Massachusetts wiseguys for induction into the Genovese family. One of those suspected of being proposed by Onofrio for membership, Ralphie Santaniello, 52, also convicted in the East Coast LCN case as well as another extortion beef, filed paperwork with his judge looking to get out early on COVID-19 concerns, but had his request rejected in federal court Thursday. Santaniello is slated to be released in September. According to sources, Santaniello and his dad, Amadeo, another veteran of the Western Massachusetts underworld, are on the outs with Genovese brass related to a 2017 photo of Amadeo posing with a government witness. The picture made its way onto social media and angered Genovese bosses.
