before that, eliot spitzer was new york s governor, attorney general, and manhattan s mob busting d.a. as well. what do you make of the scope of today s arrest, eliot? i think it is more impressive in terms of number than in terms of the ultimate impact on the mob. the fact there are still movies made about the mob every five year it s still there. i think bill bastone is correct about that. having said that, the crimes charged in these multiple indictments are street level crimes. there s murder in there. most is extortion, a bit of
it s a myth that the mob is a thing of the past, and eric holder made a high profile trip to new york to underscore the point. it is probably not nationwide in the scope. it s impact as it once was. but the reality is, it is an ongoing threat. a major threat to this the economic well being of this country, in addition to being the violent organization. more than 120 alleged mobsters were arrested in three states, and one in italy. 16 indictments lay out charges that range from a 1982 murder in a new york bar to illegal gambling, to extortion and labor racketeering, including a case where union members passed along christmas bonuses to crime families. the indictments are unrelated. the question is why the massive sweep with cases dating back decades. janis heads the fbi s new york division. she cites the scope of the investigation and cooperation between agencies.