Officials: Deer Park man charged with extortion

A Deer Park man, who authorities said is a captain in the Gambino crime family, was arrested Monday, accused of extorting money from a victim in Manhattan.

Joseph Giordano, 63, charged with second-degree grand larceny by extortion, is accused of threatening and physically injuring someone to extort about $50,000.

Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance said in a news release that from March 2009 through June 2009, Giordano threatened, punched, kicked and slapped a victim to extort the money.

The district attorney's office declined to release any additional specific information concerning the victim or the circumstances.

Giordano's son, Michael Giordano, reached by telephone, said, "I don't think anyone will comment at this time."

A Manhattan Supreme Court judge set Giordano's bail at $100,000.

The Gambino crime family, one of the five organized crime families operating in the New York area, is divided into crews, with each crew headed by a captain, Vance's office said.

Giordano, whose criminal record dates to illegal gambling convictions in the 1970s, was also convicted in Nassau County in 1991 along with his late brother John and a third man, Phillip Cestaro, of operating a $300 million per year gambling operation in the metropolitan area.

If convicted of the current charge, Giordano faces 5 to 15 years in prison, Vance's office said.