The La Cosa Nostra (LCN) environment of Los Santos can be summed up with one word; turbulent. The Bellantonios arguably never reached the heights of their predecessors, but nevertheless they were a force to be reckoned with in the Los Santos underworld. With the testimony of Michael Aquino, a known Michael Sarino affiliate, the authorities made considerable ground to dismantle the organization. After the public Senate hearing on LCN in San Andreas, spearheaded by Senator Jep Appelo, a wave of indictments came down on the crime network that included infamous mobsters Louis Persico, Victor "Vic" Fara, Joe "Joe Bells" Bellantonio, Joseph Fara, Carmine Navarra, the late George Neri, Robert "Bobby Locs" Locatelli and Anthony Navarra.
Senate Committee on Public Safety and State Security (Oct. 2017):
M. AQUINO: I never had the pleasure of meeting with Joey [Bellantonio]. I was supposed to though.
SENATOR J. APPELO: He's the boss?
M. AQUINO: Yes.
SENATOR J. APPELO: And underneath him, was there a number two or three?
M. AQUINO: It was like a council, really. Victor Fara, Louis Persico and Carmine Navarra.
SENATOR J. APPELO: This sounds like corporate America. Councils, boards.
SENATOR J. APPELO: What are the responsibilities of each, or were they all equal?
M. AQUINO: Carmine always had the upper hand. Him and his nephew, Anthony.
M.AQUINO: People liked Louis more though.
The case formed by prosecutors was relatively strong, but during the proceedings two main concerns were brought to light and their attempts at dismantling the organization were halted. The validity of Michael Aquino's testimony was going to be a problem from day one. Aquino was a self-confessed gangster and a known drug user that was cast out by the organization. The defense argued that Aquino's testimony was engineered by a prosecutors without regard for facts but hearsay.
The second concern was the illegal wiretapping of Victor Fara's phone in 2012. V.Fara and J.Fara were Detroit based members of the organization and the government alleged they served as a liaison between Detroit and Los Santos organized crime. Victor Fara came to the authorities' attention after a visit to Los Santos in 2010, and without a warrant they illegally wiretapped his phone and recorded calls between him and his brother. Most of which were personal calls that had little to do with proving a criminal conspiracy. This invasion of privacy and the government's mismanagement of the investigation caused for certain evidence to become inadmissible. The defense had won.
