Octogenarian Wiseguy Guilty In One Punch Extortion Of Manhattan Restaurateur

Genovese mobster Anthony (Rom) Romanello is planning to appeal his immediate jailing after his conviction of the one punch extortion of prominent Manhattan restaurateur Bruno Selimaj. His convicted accomplice, Joseph Celso, is also cooling his heels behind bars after attending a Genovese Xmas party while the jury was deliberating their fate.

It took two Brooklyn Federal Court juries three days to convict the duo of using extortionate means back in 2017 to collect an illegal $86,000 gambling debt that two relatives of Selimaj and his brother Nino owed to Michael Regan, a major Queens bookmaker. Nino Selimaj owns Nino’s, a popular Upper East Side Italian restaurant. Trial testimony took three days.  

The videotaped punchout of Bruno Selimaj at his now shuttered Lincoln Square Steakhouse on May 11, 2017, was triggered by the refusal of Selimaj’s nephew Fiton (Toni) Selimaj and his brother-in-law, Eldar (Eddie) Dervisevic, to fork over the $86,000 they had lost to Regan shortly after they had won, and been paid, $100,000, according to trial testimony.

That’s Regan’s runner, Luan (Lou) Bexheti leading Dervisevic through a Rite Aid into a parking lot to collect the $100,000 he had won from Regan on February 18, 2017. That was about a month before Toni Selimaj lost $6000 and Eddie Dervisevic lost $80,000 that led up to the knuckle sandwich that Romanello gave Bruno Selimaj at his steakhouse six years ago.

Toni Selimaj testified that he met Bexheti while he was a waiter at his uncle Bruno’s Club A Steakhouse and began placing bets with him. He later introduced his brother-in-law Eddie to Bexheti, he testified. Toni had a $5000 weekly account, and wagered $1000 a game. Eddie, whose father is a very successful businessman, had a $25,000 account, and could bet up to $5000 on a sporting event, Toni testified.

Toni said he never had a winning week. But Eddie scored big, and collected $100,000 in cash from Robert Utnick, a member of Regan’s bookmaking operation. He picked up his cash meeting up with Utnick outside the Rite Aid store in the parking lot, Toni testified.

He was never threatened, but he learned that his uncle was punched in the mouth over the debt that he and Eddie owed the bookmaker, he testified. He added that Eddie’s father gave him the money his son owed the bookie, and Toni gave it to his uncle Nino, who testified that he paid the debt to Celso, whom he had known for years.

Romanello, 86, was convicted of extortion, and extortion conspiracy. Celso, 51, was found guilty of being part of the conspiracy, but was acquitted of extortion, and of obstruction of justice. They each face maximum sentences of 20 years, but their guidelines will be much lower.

The jury that began its deliberations on Thursday, December 7, was unable to reach a verdict in two days. On Monday, December 11, an alternate juror replaced a member of that panel who was unable to continue. That jury reached a verdict a few hours later.

Judge Eric Komitee revoked bail for both mobsters under a statue that strongly suggests that defendants convicted of extortion be jailed to await sentencing. It is slated for March 4. Celso, who was found guilty only of extortion conspiracy and whose role in the crime was merely being there when Rom punched Bruno Selimaj in the mouth, sunk his chance of remaining free when prosecutors told Komitee that Celso had violated his bail conditions on the weekend before his conviction by attending a Genovese family Christmas party in Congers, NY.

Sources tell Gang Land that the bash was attended by many persons that Celso should not have been hanging around with. They included Ernest (Ernie) Muscarella, 80, whom the FBI carries as the crime family’s underboss, and capo Michael (Hippy) Zanfardino, 55. 

Zanfardino was involved with other Genovese gangsters in a shooting war in the 1990s with the Tanglewood Boys, a rival gang tied to the Luchese crime family. He beat two trials connected to the violence, but pleaded guilty to racketeering and two murder conspiracies and numerous extortions in 2003. Sources say Hippy has risen in stature since his release from prison in 2016.

Celso’s lawyer, Gerard Marrone said he was “happy about the outcome because the jury acquitted Joe of two major counts.” He noted that “it’s very easy to convict someone of conspiracy, especially when the government gets in all this Mafia stuff that was supposed to be excluded” from the trial. “l am definitely planning to appeal the conviction,” Marrone added.  

Romanello’s attorney, Gerald McMahon, told Gang Land that he has appealed his client’s jailing while he awaits sentencing and is hopeful of winning his client’s release from the MDC.

Asked about his claim that Rom’s prosecution was “the most frivolous case” he had encountered in 45 years as an attorney, and that the government would fail to put Romanello behind bars, as it did two prior times, McMahon blamed pro-government rulings by Komitee for the outcome.

“That’s what you get when you have a judge who’s looking to convict the defendants,” he said. “He sold out the defendants and they got a conviction.”