Conviction upheld in waterfront mob case

   The U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld the conviction of Michael Coppola who was found guilty by a jury of racketeering and sentenced to 16 years in jail in 2009.
   The court said Coppola was found guilty after a jury trial in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York “of conducting and conspiring to conduct the affairs of the Genovese organized crime family through a pattern of racketeering activity evidenced by the use of extortion and fraud to control the New York-New Jersey waterfront generally and International Longshoreman’s Association (“ILA”) Local 1235 in particular, and by the possession of false identification documents.”
   The appellate court found the evidence was sufficient to permit a reasonable jury to find the requisite pattern of racketeering proved.