Two reputed mobsters were indicted for allegedly robbing a Franklin Square jewelry store and trying to rob two other jewelry stores in the same community six years ago, federal authorities said Wednesday.
Darren Elliot, 30, and Matthew “Mack” Hattley, 26, both of Queens, were arrested on robbery, attempted robbery and firearms offenses, among other charges, at Brooklyn federal court. They were among seven Bonanno crime family members and associates rounded up, including the late mob boss John Gotti’s grandson.
“This office and its partners will continue to vigilantly pursue such organized violence and stop it in its tracks,” said Bridget Rohde, acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, who credited Nassau County police for their help in the investigation.
Prosecutors said Elliot and Hattley stole about $250,000 in merchandise when they robbed one jewelry store at gunpoint and tied up the store owner—and tried to commit two other Frankin Square jewelry store robberies between Aug. 17, 2011 and May 5, 2012.
Others charged in the pair of indictments include the Teflon Don’s 23-year-old grandson, John J. Gotti, 82-year-old Vincent Asaro, 22-year-old Michael Guidici, 26-year-old Matthew “Fat Matt” Rullan and 37-year-old Christopher “Bald Chris” Boothby. All are from Queens.
Asaro, a former captain in the Bonanno family who was recently acquitted of charges that he plotted the Lufthansa heist, allegedly ordered an associate to set fire to a vehicle whose driver cut him off in 2012, authorities said. The associate, Gotti and Rullan torched the vehicle and fled police who witnessed the arson, according to investigators.
Two weeks later, Gotti, Rullan, and Guidici allegedly robbed a bank of $5,491 after Guidici passed a note to a teller that stated in part, “I have a bomb,” prosecutors said. And in 2014, Boothby, Hattley and another Bonanno associate allegedly stole more than $50,000 in cash and hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of jewelry during a home invasion during which a woman was tied up, authorities said.
All of the suspects face up to 20 years in prison, if convicted.
