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NEW YORK (AP) - The reputed head of the Genovese crime family was charged Wednesday with extortion and loansharking as the federal government began a fresh crackdown on what it describes as the most dangerous of the city's five organized crime families.
Danny Leo, alias "The Lion," was held without bail after he was arrested on charges of conspiring with others to extort the owner of a livery car business and an illegal gambling business from 2002 until last November.
The government can prove at trial that Leo is "the current boss of the Genovese crime family, perhaps the largest and most violent crime family that exists," Assistant U.S. Attorney Eric Snyder said. As the family's boss, Leo commanded more than 200 members, prosecutors say.
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