Partial Verdict Convicts Four in Rackets Case

Four men, one a Garden Grove resident, were convicted of making and collecting loans by extortionate means in partial verdicts returned Tuesday in a racketeering, extortion and loan-sharking trial that lasted six weeks in Los Angeles federal court.

A fifth man, the owner of an Irvine-based pizza parlor chain, was acquitted of one charge against him, and the jury failed to reach verdicts on 14 racketeering and conspiracy charges, which are the major parts of the government’s case against seven men on trial before U.S. District Judge Matt Byrne Jr.

Federal Indictment

The seven, described in a 1984 federal grand jury indictment as being “associates and members” of a crime family, are accused of trying to set up loan-sharking and illegal bookmaking operations in Southern California and Las Vegas.

Among the men found guilty Tuesday was Vito Dominic Spillone, 48, of Upland. Prosecutors charged that Spillone, who spent five years in federal prison after being convicted of loan-sharking activities in Chicago, was the head of the operation.

The others convicted were John Clyde Abel, 41, of Chicago; Frank Serrao, 56, Garden Grove, and Frank Citro, 39, Las Vegas. They face maximum prison terms of 20 years and possible $10,000 fines on each count.

A fifth man, John James Barro, 46, of Hacienda Heights, the owner and former president of Barro’s Pizza Inc. of Irvine, was acquitted of one of four charges against him. According to prosecutors, Barro reportedly was the No. 2 man who approved the loans.

No verdicts were returned Tuesday against two others, Joseph Bolognese, 52, of Las Vegas, and John Meccia, 51, of LaSalle, Ill. The only charges against them are the conspiracy and racketeering counts, which each carry a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.

The partial verdicts were returned after a juror wrote a note to Byrne, saying that he was under “inordinate pressure” from fellow jurors to change his mind on the unresolved counts. The juror said he had reached “well-thought-out and final” decisions regarding the charges but did not say what they were.

Despite the note, the judge ordered the jurors to continue their deliberations this morning. The panel has already deliberated for seven days.