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March 15, 1996
"Arrests began last night to take out the entire leadership of the Detroit La Cosa Nostra. Nine of the 17 defendants are accused of committing over a 30-year period numbers of acts of violence, extortion and racketeering.
"The conduct includes infiltration of several Las Vegas casinos, plotting murders and beatings and corrupting officials.
"The lead defendant is Jack Tocco, one of the longest-tenured and most powerful La Cosa Nostra bosses in the country. The others include the underboss of the Detroit mob and four capos.
"Credit goes to the U.S. Attorney's office in Detroit, to the FBI and to the Organized Crime Strike Force in Detroit for prevailing against organized crime in the old-fashioned way: an awful lot of legwork and an awful lot of dedication.
"Organized crime is still a cruel and destructive element in America's social fabric. As the arrests in Detroit demonstrate, it remains a priority of the Justice Department."
Rick Mosquera, chief of the FBI's Organized Crime Section, took questions at the briefing with Reno. Among his remarks:
"There was some hidden ownership or hidden involvement with casinos out in Las Vegas back in the late 1960s, early '70s ... The Detroit family had some influence over the owners of some of those casinos.
"We're taking out the whole hierarchy (of the Detroit mob), and that's the significance of this particular investigation. Nine of the people arrested were the historical leadership of this family for the past 30 years.
"They were charged with conspiracy or attempted murder. It was part and parcel of their loan-sharking collection techniques. They shot at people, they attempted to place bombs in people's businesses."
Mosquera also said the investigation did not shed any new light on Jimmy Hoffa's disappearance.
"His (Hoffa's) involvement with members of this family, as well as members of other families throughout the United States -- it's always a concern for us. But, no, we're not saying we're ... any closer to identifying what really happened."