Patrick Civitello is seen in a surveillance image in a restaurant bar in New York on the phone with his brother before an attack that injured the son of a witness who testified against Civitello’s father and brother in a federal drug case. (U.S. Attorney’s Office).
A New York man admitted to assaulting the 15-year-old son of a witness who testified against the attacker’s father and brother in a Mafia-connected federal drug trafficking trial.
Patrick Civitello, 18, pleaded guilty on Monday to witness retaliation, the U.S. Attorney’s Office announced in a press release. The witness testified against Patrick Civitello’s father, Jeffrey Civitello Sr., 52, and brother, Jeffrey Civitello Jr., 24, at their trial in 2023, authorities said. Her testimony was used to convict both Civitello Sr. and Civitello Jr., court documents said.
Jeffrey Civitello Sr. was sentenced to 10 years in prison for his role in the federal drug case. Jeffrey Civitello Jr. was sentenced to 11 years for his role and a separate conviction for admittedly possessing 75 pounds of marijuana and loaded guns. A third defendant in the case, Richard D. Sinde, 59, was sentenced to 14 years in prison.
The Times Union reported the drug case was over a cocaine pipeline between New York City and Schenectady linked to the Mafia and that Sinde was a Bonanno crime family associate.
