Domenic Grande: Indictment, Guilty Plea, and Sentencing

Domenic Grande, a caporegime in the Philadelphia La Cosa Nostra known on the street as “Teflon Dom,” was sentenced on November 2, 2022, to 78 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to racketeering conspiracy and drug charges. U.S. District Judge R. Barclay Surrick imposed the six-and-a-half-year term under a binding plea agreement, followed by four years of supervised release.¹

Who Domenic Grande Is

Grande, born April 14, 1979, grew up in South Philadelphia and rose through the Philadelphia mob to the rank of captain, overseeing a crew of soldiers and associates who reported to him. He in turn reported to underboss Steven Mazzone. On the street he went by “Dom,” and prosecutors linked him to the aliases “Mr. Hopkins,” “Mr. Brown,” and “Dom14.”²

Within the organization he was regarded as an up-and-coming leader and a possible future boss.³ The “Teflon Dom” nickname reflected his long record of avoiding convictions despite years of known involvement in organized crime. Prosecutors later acknowledged that his position in the command structure had kept him insulated from day-to-day operations and, for years, from legal consequences.¹

The 2020 Federal Indictment

On November 23, 2020, a federal grand jury in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania unsealed a seven-count superseding indictment charging Grande and 14 other members and associates of the Philadelphia La Cosa Nostra with racketeering conspiracy, illegal gambling, loansharking, extortion, and drug trafficking.² Grande was arrested in December 2020 at his home on 17th Street in South Philadelphia and placed on house arrest pending trial.

Prosecutors described the enterprise as a hierarchical group operating across South Philadelphia and southern New Jersey, with particular control over gambling and loansharking in Philadelphia and Atlantic City. According to the indictment, lending operations charged interest rates as high as 400 percent, and the organization enforced discipline through threats of violence and the code of secrecy known as Omerta. The indictment also alleged that members of the conspiracy plotted to kidnap or murder a drug dealer who had sold the group counterfeit drugs, in order to protect the organization’s reputation.²

The Evidence Against Him

The government built its case on hundreds of hours of FBI recordings and testimony from a cooperating witness, later identified in reporting as Anthony Persiano.⁴ Two pieces of that evidence anchored the case against Grande.

The 2015 Making Ceremony

On October 15, 2015, a traditional Mafia induction ceremony was held at a private home in South Philadelphia. The cooperating witness wore a hidden recording device while being inducted himself, capturing much of the family’s senior leadership in the room, including alleged acting street boss Michael “Lance” Lancelotti, underboss Steven Mazzone, consigliere Joseph “Uncle Joe” Ligambi, George Borgesi, and John Ciancaglini. Grande was formally introduced to the assembled members as a new caporegime.⁵

Lancelotti, who led the ceremony, was recorded pointing to a gun and a knife and telling the initiates: “Now, you’ll use these, for us. Right? If I betray this family, betray my friends, I’ll burn in hell forever.”⁴ A dinner followed at a restaurant in Collingswood, New Jersey, where Mazzone was recorded discussing plans to retake criminal operations in Atlantic City. Grande, on the same recordings, directed others to “plant the flag” in Atlantic City to extort bookmakers and loan sharks.⁵

The Drug Tapes

On July 4, 2016, the cooperating witness recorded a conversation with Grande in Atlantic City about cocaine deals. When the informant mentioned obtaining “bricks of cocaine” and said he would not move drugs without clearing it first, Grande lowered his voice and whispered, “You’ve got to be careful.” When the informant assured him he was taking his time, Grande replied, “Do what you got to do.”⁶

Other recordings captured Grande discussing oxycodone pills and counterfeit pills laced with heroin and fentanyl. In one exchange he told the informant: “if you can get that man, I can f—ing move thousands of them. . . . You know these kids sell them for f—ing $20 a piece?”⁷ Prosecutors argued that Grande sanctioned drug trafficking, set resale price points to ensure profits for the organization, and directed his crew’s involvement in distributing heroin, cocaine, fentanyl, methamphetamine, and oxycodone.⁶ A separate recording captured him detailing how proceeds were “kicked up” to higher-ranking members, giving prosecutors evidence of the enterprise’s financial structure.⁸

The Guilty Plea

In May 2022, Grande pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy and drug charges under Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 11(c)(1)(C), which binds the court to a specific agreed-upon sentence. The plea agreement called for 78 months in prison followed by four years of supervised release. Had he gone to trial and been convicted on the racketeering and drug counts, he had faced up to 20 years.³ The plea was his first federal conviction, ending the streak that had produced the “Teflon Dom” nickname.

Sentencing and Terms of Supervised Release

At the November 2, 2022, sentencing hearing, Judge Surrick imposed the 78-month term. He rejected the prosecution’s request for ten years of supervised release, ordering four years instead. He also denied the government’s request that Grande surrender immediately, setting a January 2023 date for him to report to federal prison. As a condition of supervised release, Grande is prohibited from associating with known felons and organized crime figures.¹

Where the Case Stands

Grande reported to federal prison in January 2023. Reporting at the time indicated he was expected to serve his time at a facility close to his South Philadelphia home.¹ With good-time credit under federal sentencing rules, his projected release would fall around mid-2029.

How the Co-Defendants Fared

Fourteen of the 15 defendants pleaded guilty. The most prominent, underboss Steven Mazzone, pleaded guilty in June 2022 to five counts tied to racketeering, loansharking, and running an illegal gambling business. Judge Surrick sentenced him on December 15, 2022, to five years in prison followed by three years of supervised release. It was Mazzone’s second federal conviction; he had previously served nine years for racketeering conspiracy and illegal bookmaking in a case from 2000.⁹

Joseph “Joey Electric” Servidio, a soldier from the North Jersey crew who ran a drug operation linked to Grande’s crew, had already been sentenced in October 2020 to 15 years for conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, fentanyl, and heroin. He was held responsible for distributing over 200 grams of fentanyl and heroin and roughly 300 grams of methamphetamine.¹⁰ Carl Chianese, then 80 years old, received 10 years for his role in the drug conspiracy.

Michael “Lance” Lancelotti, identified by law enforcement as the family’s acting street boss, was not charged despite his recorded presence at the 2015 induction ceremony. Reporting on the case noted he has avoided charges in at least three major FBI investigations over more than two decades.⁶

1
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