Arrests end rule of capo and five pals, says FBI By Robert Rudolph 1998/09/23 © The Star Ledger 1996      "When the operator of an Italian restaurant in Union found himself being muscled by the Gambino crime family, authorities say, he reached out for the guys he was already paying for protection - members of the Bruno-Scarfo mob.      What resulted was a violent clash between two New Jersey mob families. One of the reputed Gambino members was beaten, knocked over the head with a magnum of wine and stabbed.      With that incident, investigators say, the Bruno family re-established its claim over gambling and protection rackets in some areas of northern New Jersey.      But the assault was witnessed by an informant, and it fueled a two-year investigation that led to yesterday's 22-count federal racketeering indictment that could decimate the Bruno-Scarfo business in North Jersey, authorities say. The indictment names the reputed head of New Jersey operations for the Bruno-Scarfo group and five of his close associates.      Taken into custody yesterday in an early-morning roundup by the FBI was reputed capo Joseph "Scoops" Licata of Florham Park. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ronald Wigler said Licata managed the Scarfo business in North Jersey for nearly a decade and maintained a direct pipeline to the boss of the crime family.      Also charged was Licata's reputed lieutenant, Nicholas "Nicky O" Olivieri of Bloomfield. Authorities said he was a "made member" of the crime family whose initiation ceremony has been secretly recorded by an informant.      Others charged were Louis "Big Lou" Fazzini of Belleville; Dennis "The Fireman" Christy of Belleville, a former member of the Newark Fire Department who ran a Bloomfield night spot known as "Club Love"; James "Jimmy Fingers" Polidori of Bloomfield, identified as a student at the Fashion Institute of Technology, and Carmen D'Archi of Fairfield.      The indictment accuses the men of an array of illegal activities ranging from racketeering to gambling, loansharking and extortion.      Licata has a criminal record dating back more than 30 years and once boasted that his loansharking business charged losing gamblers an annual interest rate of 50 percent, according to court papers.      Robert Cordier, assistant special agent in charge of the FBI for New Jersey, said the indictment of Licata and the others was a major offensive in the government's effort to break the stranglehold of the mob on businesses and service industries throughout the state.      Cordier predicted that the indictments will escalate the ongoing struggle for control of organized- crime operations in North Jersey. "This causes problems, no two ways about it," Cordier said.      The Bruno organization, although based in Philadelphia and Atlantic City, has maintained a powerful presence in North Jersey since the 1950s.      One of the founders of the North Jersey faction was Antonio "Tony Bananas" Caponigro, whose execution nearly two decades ago has become part of mob legend. Caponigro's nude body was found in the trunk of a stolen car, encased in a plastic bag stuffed with 20-dollar bills. He had been shot 14 times and stabbed in the stomach.      Authorities noted that in recent years the Bruno family has been damaged by successful prosecutions, leaving a leadership vacuum and a series of violent internal power struggles that followed the assassination of the family's patriarch, Angelo Bruno.      ''This is the first step toward eradicating their power in North Jersey," said Wigler of yesterday's indictments.      During a hearing yesterday in Newark, Licata - dressed in a brown T-shirt and beige slacks - described himself as a used-car dealer of 13 years who attends daily auctions to purchase vehicles for resale.      U.S. Magistrate Dennis Cavanaugh ordered Licata, who lives in a $500,000 home in Morris County, released on a $400,000 bond. Except for Olivieri, who Wigler said was charged with attempted murder, the other defendants also were released on bond.      As outlined by authorities, the case is based largely on cooperation by a mob member who turned undercover operative for the FBI and who spent years secretly recording the operations of his associates.      The informant, Steve Lenehan of Belleville, already has been credited with toppling another crime organization, a Genovese family-controlled faction headed by the late Thomas "Pee Wee" DePhillips. Sources say Lenehan was present during the assault at the Union restaurant.      As described by investigators, the restaurant owner had been threatened by a representative of the Gambino mob, and turned to contacts in the Bruno organization who had agreed to provide him with protection.      Early one morning, before the restaurant opened for business, sources said, Olivieri and Fazzini were waiting when the Gambino figure - identified in court papers as "Michael F." - arrived at the scene to collect a cash payment.      ''Words were exchanged," said one knowledgeable source, "and someone said, 'Let's take this outside.'"      The Gambino member, beaten and stabbed, told police from a local hospital that he was attacked by eight men he couldn't identify. No charges were brought.      But sources said Lenehan witnessed the entire incident. His account was supported by at least two other informants, Ronald Castellano of Succasunna and George Fresolone, who sources say secretly tape- recorded Olivieri's entire initiation ceremony in the mob.      The FBI said the restaurant is now under new ownership. (1998/09/23 Wednesday Page: 017 Section: NEW JERSEY Edition: FINAL Size: 926 words, Robert Rudolph)"