February 1, 2026

 A Familiar Headline: Teddy Persico is Headed Back to Prison 

Theodore “ Skinny Teddy” Persico, a longtime figure in the Colombo Crime Family, whose father, uncle's, brother, and cousins have all been a part of, is once again facing federal consequences after admitting to multiple violations of his supervised release. Persico, 62, has spent nearly 30 years of his life behind bars and carries a lengthy arrest and conviction history that includes a drug offense, attempted grand larceny, disorderly conduct, criminal sale of a controlled substance, and two prior federal racketeering convictions.

Persico was arrested in mid-January on a violation of supervised release (VOSR), stemming from conduct that occurred while he was under federal supervision following a 60-month prison sentence. That sentence was imposed after Persico pleaded guilty to a 2021 racketeering case involving the targeting of a local union by Colombo crime family members and leadership.

During the investigation into Persico and other Colombo Family members, prior to the 2021 indictment, federal authorities learned that the Colombo Family had selected Persico to assume the title that his uncle once held, Boss of the Family, once he completed his supervised release that he was under from a prior case. At the time, Persico was serving as a Captain within the organization.

Since the 2021 indictment, we've been left in the dark on whether or not Persico had assume that role. During Persico’s recent VOSR hearing on January 22, it was disclosed that he had assumed the position of boss of the Colombo crime family following his release from prison in 2025.

Federal prosecutors charged Persico with four supervised release violations, all tied to prohibited contact with organized crime figures.

Violation 1: August 29, 2025 — Meeting Outside NYU Langone

The first violation alleges that on August 29, 2025, Persico met with Salvatore Fusco Jr., described as a member of the Colombo Family’s senior administration, outside NYU Langone Hospital in Manhattan. 

According to surveillance footage, Persico and Fusco arrived separately around 1:45 p.m., parked along First Avenue, and greeted one another before walking together for approximately an hour around the hospital’s exterior. The two later returned to Persico’s vehicle, where Persico retrieved his phone and initiated a video call. Persico’s girlfriend subsequently arrived and greeted Fusco warmly.

Violation 2: September 8, 2025 — Vintage Collision Encounter

Roughly one week later, on September 8, 2025, law enforcement surveilled Persico at his workplace, Vintage Collision. Agents observed Gambino Family Soldier Daniel Fama arrive with an unidentified individual. Fama greeted Persico, spoke with him outside the business, and then entered the shop alongside Persico.

Violation 3: December 1, 2025 — Ponte Vecchio Christmas Party

The most detailed allegation stems from a December 1, 2025 Christmas party at Ponte Vecchio, a Brooklyn restaurant. That evening, FBI personnel observed a white truck registered to Vintage Collision and multiple vehicles registered to known organized crime figures parked outside the restaurant. When agents attempted to enter, staff informed them the restaurant was closed for a private event.

Subsequent review of CCTV footage and reservation records showed the event had been reserved by Richard Cappa, a Colombo Family Soldier. Footage depicts Persico arriving at approximately 5:30 p.m. and dining with his cousin, Angelo Spata, a Colombo Captain.

During the meal, multiple Colombo members entered the restaurant. Persico largely ignored them while Spata greeted them. At one point, Persico was seen making a video call. Around 6:10 p.m., Persico and Spata walked to a rear outdoor area while leaving their phones inside.

Spata later reentered the restaurant alone and ensured that Colombo Captain John Maggio and Soldiers Thomas Scorcia and Michael DeMicco left their phones inside before escorting them outside to meet Persico. Outside, Persico warmly greeted the men, embracing and kissing them, and the group met for roughly ten minutes.

(Teddy Persico, Angelo Spata, John Maggio, Thomas Scorcia, Michael DeMicco/Joseph Marra)

During the meeting, Persico spoke separately with Maggio and Spata while Scorcia and DeMicco remained out of earshot or inside the restaurant. Prosecutors described this conduct as consistent with the Colombo crime family’s chain of command, with Persico, as Boss, addressing an issue involving Scorcia and DeMicco through their Captains.

In a notable moment during court proceedings, Persico publicly challenged part of the government’s identification, stating that the third individual he met with outside the restaurant was not Michael DeMicco but Joseph Marra, another Colombo Soldier.

“It’s not him,” Persico said. “It was Joe Marra.”

Violation 4: December 16-17, 2025 — Vintage Collision 

The fourth violation involves additional surveillance at Vintage Collision on December 16 and 17, 2025. On December 16, Persico was inside the business when Daniel Fama arrived driving a car registered to a family member and entered the shop. The following day, Persico was again observed at the location while a vehicle registered to Fama was parked outside.

Fama is currently facing unrelated charges in Queens for mortgage fraud alongside his wife and a Mob Associate Benedetto Cupo.

Guilty Plea 

Prosecutors also noted that while Persico was residing in a halfway house, he lacked driving privileges but was nonetheless observed driving his girlfriend’s BMW.

Persico ultimately pleaded guilty to the VOSR charges. He faces a statutory maximum of two years in prison, though federal sentencing guidelines suggest a likely range of five to eleven months.

His attorney, Joseph Corozzo, a relative of several Gambino crime family members, emphasized that Persico had been charged solely with contact violations and noted that Persico had disclosed those contacts to probation officials prior to his arrest.

Brooklyn Federal Judge Hector Gonzalez ordered Persico released under strict house arrest conditions, including GPS monitoring, on a $1 million bond secured by two properties valued at more than $2 million: Persico’s Staten Island $1.2 million residence, held in his wife’s name, and his mother’s home in Brooklyn.

Persico is scheduled to be sentenced on February 11.

Ryan Wedding Surrender or Capture?

The arrest of Ryan James Wedding in January 2026 marked the culmination of a two-decade descent from Olympic athlete to alleged international drug trafficker. Once a Canadian snowboarding standout who represented his country on the world’s biggest sporting stage, Wedding is now accused of overseeing large-scale drug trafficking operations that moves 60 metric tons of cocaine per year and being connected to multiple murders across borders. His capture in Mexico has sparked controversy over how, exactly, he was taken into custody.

Wedding was born in Thunder Bay, Ontario, and moved with his family to British Columbia in the early 1990s. Talented and driven, he emerged as a promising athlete and ultimately earned a spot on Canada’s Olympic team. At the 2002 Winter Olympics, Wedding competed in snowboarding and finished 24th an achievement.

Within a few years of competing in the Olympics, Wedding and another professional snowboarder were named in a search warrant connected to a large marijuana grow operation. Authorities seized more than 6,000 marijuana plants in that investigation. Although Wedding was not charged at the time, it was the first time his name was linked to drug trafficking.

Two years later, in 2008, Wedding was arrested in California after traveling there to purchase 24 kilograms of cocaine. The arrest led to a conviction and a four-year prison sentence. Despite the severity of the crime, Wedding was released early in 2011, serving only part of his sentence. His release marked the beginning of what prosecutors later described as a deeper entrenchment in the drug trade.

After leaving prison, Wedding relocated to Montreal, where authorities believe he resumed trafficking activities. In 2015, he was charged in connection with drug trafficking but was never arrested. By that point, Canadian investigators believe Wedding had already fled Canada. He is thought to have traveled to Mexico, where he continued to expand his drug operations under the protection of the Sinaloa Cartel.

The criminal allegations against Wedding piled on significantly in October 2024, when he and several associates were indicted out of California on charges of drug trafficking and multiple murders. The indictment was reportedly the result of extensive federal investigations, aided in part by a confidential informant, Jonathan Acebedo-Garcia.

In January 2025, Acebedo-Garcia was murdered in Colombia. Later that year, in November 2025, U.S. prosecutors filed a superseding indictment charging Wedding and others not only with drug trafficking but also with the murder of Acebedo-Garcia. Authorities also increased the bounty for information leading to Wedding’s capture to $15 million.

For months, Wedding, believed to be hiding in Mexico under the protection of the Sinaloa Cartel, evaded capture. Then, on January 22, 2026, authorities announced that he had been arrested.

Mexican officials and the U.S. ambassador to Mexico stated that Wedding turned himself in at the U.S. Embassy in Mexico City. According to this version of events, Wedding voluntarily surrendered. However, statements from U.S. law enforcement didn't line up with that narrative. FBI Director Kash Patel described the arrest as “a complex, high-stakes operation with zero margin for error” and publicly thanked the FBI’s Hostage Rescue Team, implying a coordinated capture rather than a voluntary surrender.

Wedding’s lawyer, Anthony Colombo, the grandson of Mafia boss Joseph Colombo, rejected claims that his client turned himself in. 

Days after the arrest, The Wall Street Journal reported that a secretive FBI operation in Mexico had led to Wedding’s capture. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum later confirmed key details of the Wall Street Journal’s reporting but emphasized that Mexico does not allow joint operations by foreign law enforcement within its territory. days earlier she denied US involvement and claimed Wedding turned himself in at the US embassy.

Wedding has pleaded not guilty to all charges.

Organized Crime in 2026

Here’s what to watch for in 2026: major trials, insider testimony, and ongoing investigations.

One of the most significant developments is the Project Alliance prosecutions in Montreal, Canada. Thirteen men linked to the Montreal-based Rizzuto Clan are scheduled to face trial on murder and murder-conspiracy charges. Central to the case is Frederick Silva, a contract killer who participated in more than 60 murders for multiple organized crime groups before becoming a cooperating witness. To date, 16 individuals tied to the Rizzuto organization have been charged, with three still fugitives, and law-enforcement sources indicate further arrests are likely as 2026 progresses. Separately, the ongoing investigation into the Oliverio-Lopez Clan continues, targeting them for alleged money laundering, gambling, and drug trafficking operations.

In New York, prosecutors remain focused on a sprawling NBA-linked illegal gambling case. Authorities allege that members of multiple Mafia families, including Gambino Captain Joseph Lanni; Gambino Soldiers Lee Fama and Angelo Ruggerio Jr.; Genovese Soldier Matthew Daddino; Bonanno Acting Consigliere Ernest Aiello; Bonanno Soldier Julius Ziliani; and others ran high-stakes poker games using sophisticated cheating methods. The operation allegedly used rigged tables equipped with X-ray technology, pre-marked cards readable through specialized glasses, and hidden cameras. Professional athletes, known as “face cards,” were used to attract unsuspecting victims, or “fish,” to the fixed games.

Another Gambino-related case involves Daniel Fama, brother of Lee Fama. Charged by the Queens District Attorney’s Office, Fama, his wife Marjorie Fama, and mob Associate Benedetto Cupo are accused of grand larceny and fraud for allegedly falsifying employment records to obtain a $550,000 mortgage on their Staten Island home. 

Gambling continued to be the bread & butter to mobsters and law-enforcement alike in the New York-New Jersey area in 2025. In New Jersey, state authorities brought sweeping RICO charges against Lucchese Captain Joseph R. Perna (“Big Joe”); Soldier John Perna; Captain and ruling panel member George Zappola; and nearly 40 others, including a sitting Jersey City councilman Anand Shah in a gambling operation that allegedly generated $3 million. In a separate case, Joseph M. Perna (“Little Joe”), Big Joe’s cousin, was arrested on racketeering, illegal sports betting, and money-laundering charges alongside his two sons, his stepson, two nephews, his wife, his ex wife, and 6 others. In New York, state prosecutors also charged Gambino Soldiers John LaForte, Anthony Cinque Jr., and John Matera, along with 13 associates, in a $22 million illegal gambling scheme. All three cases are likely to move forward with plea deals and/or trials this year.

In Chicago, longtime Grand Avenue crew Associate Robert "Bobby" Dominic is scheduled to stand trial in May on tax-evasion charges. 

In Buffalo, the Crystal Quinn retaliation case continues to move slowly through the courts. Peter Gerace Jr., John “Tommy O” Ermin, Howard Hinkle, and Simon Gogolack are charged in connection with Quinn’s fentanyl-related death. Although allegations of prosecutorial misconduct have surfaced, they have recently been rejected by the court.

Several other cases are likely to make headlines in 2026. These include a Bonanno-linked extortion case, Ralph Santaniello’s road-rage prosecution, a possible trial in Montreal for the murder of Claudia Iacono, and further developments involving alleged Gambino Family ties to the Goran Gogic case, among others.