Ex-Carpenters official Zarzana, Atlantic Yards cheerleader, pleads guilty to extortion

Photo by Adrian Kinloch, Brooklyn Day rally 6/5/08

I reported 4/19/12 that Salvester (Sal) Zarzana, former head of a Carpenters Union Local and a prominent cheerleader for Atlantic Yards, was charged with extortion and identified in a federal indictment  as a soldier in the Genovese organized crime family.

The Daily News reported last night,

Three Genovese wiseguys and two associates pleaded guilty Thursday [sic] to shakedowns of construction contractors and a labor union.

Reputed soldier James Bernardone, 45, agreed to step down as secretary treasurer of Local 124 as part of copping to extorting a contractor. Sal Zarzana, an alleged made man, pleaded guilty to the same extortion scheme.

Sentencing is 3/14/14, according to the New York Post. The extortion scheme was unrelated to Atlantic Yards. The indictment described an extortion conspiracy charge and an extortion charge relating to a construction site "located at the intersection of Gold Street, Johnson Street and Flatbush Avenue" in Brooklyn--which could be the sites for the Oro or Avalon Fort Greene towers.

At "Brooklyn Day"

An image search for Zarzana turns up several shots from the 6/5/08 "Brooklyn Day" rally  in support of Atlantic Yards. Zarzana was the only speaker to target elected officials who were opponents or critics of the project. “There’s a bunch of politicians we need to straighten out, like [City Council Member] Tish James,” he nearly screamed, near apoplexy.

Interestingly enough, he stood very near then-state Sen. Carl Kruger, who's also in prison.

Below is a video shot by the Carpenters Union, with Zarzana in the cover frame. His part starts about one minute in.