Vincent Alessi is a Bayonne developer who runs a family cluster of concrete, waste, recycling, and real estate companies known as the Alessi Organization, and over roughly two decades he and those companies have been tied to a 2009 organized crime arrest, a corporate bribery plea, a federal pension-fund suit seeking to pierce the corporate veil, a 2026 federal whistleblower case alleging a nearly $20 million fraud in a Bayonne land deal, and a neighborhood class action over an industrial terminal he owns.
The 2009 Organized Crime Arrest and Duramix Bribery Plea
On November 18, 2009, Alessi, then 42, was one of 22 people arrested on Staten Island in a sweep announced by then–New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo. The arrests came out of two investigations, “Operation Pure Luck” and “Operation Night Gallery,” run by the New York Attorney General’s Organized Crime Task Force and the NYPD, targeting mob-controlled loansharking and gambling tied to the Gambino and Luchese crime families.1NJ.com. Bayonne’s Vincent Alessi Among 22 Arrested
Alessi’s role was specific. As president and owner of Duramix Concrete Corporation, he was charged with bribery, bid-rigging, and receiving kickbacks on a New York City Department of Sanitation contract. Prosecutors alleged that Frederick Grimaldi, a Sanitation Department deputy chief, leaked confidential bidding information to his father-in-law Michael Murdocco, a reputed Gambino soldier. Murdocco and Grimaldi then allegedly steered the contract to Duramix, which won a bid in May 2009, and Alessi allegedly paid kickbacks described as a portion of the contract price.2SILive.com. Press Release From Attorney General on Organized Crime Arrests3New York Daily News. Sanitation Gets Dirtied Up: Deputy Chief Grimaldi Accused of Mob Kickbacks
In 2010, Duramix pleaded guilty to bribery and agreed to pay $125,000 in restitution. A 2011 report by the New Jersey State Commission of Investigation later linked the Alessi-owned concrete firm to a bribery case involving the DeCavalcante organized crime family, and characterized Alessi’s firms as “emblematic of organized crime’s intrusion into the business of collecting, dumping, and recycling construction and demolition debris.”4Jersey Vindicator. At Brady’s Dock, a Neighborhood Lives Under a Cloud of Dust
The Alessi Organization
The Alessi Organization, sometimes called the “Alessi Family Enterprise” in court filings, is a collection of companies owned by Alessi family members. Vincenzo Alessi is its principal and president, and his wife Susan, sister Nancy, brother Francesco, and relatives Gaetano Jr. and Salvatore hold ownership interests across the entities.5GovInfo. Board of Trustees of Trucking Employees v. 160 East 22nd Street Realty
The group covers concrete (Duramix Concrete), construction (Bayonne Durable Construction), recycling (Durable Recycling), real estate development through a series of LLCs, and a management company, Alessi Organization Management (AOM), that Vincenzo Alessi founded to handle accounting and billing for all the entities. The companies operate out of shared offices at 160 East 22nd Street in Bayonne and share equipment, and internal transactions between the entities were conducted without formal loan agreements, collateral, or interest payments.5GovInfo. Board of Trustees of Trucking Employees v. 160 East 22nd Street Realty
Active in Bayonne since 1966, the organization has built or managed several projects in the city. South Cove Commons, completed in the late 2000s near Route 440, was described as its first major Bayonne development.6NJ.com. Construction Set to Begin Soon on Commercial Development A later phase added plans for a 120-room Hilton hotel, an 80-unit residential building, and new commercial space.7Jersey Digs. South Cove Commons Redevelopment Brings Hotel to Bayonne In 2017, the Bayonne City Council approved a 25-year tax abatement for a 232-unit residential project through an Alessi subsidiary, Peninsula View Urban Renewal, LLC.8Hudson County View. Bayonne Council Approves 25-Year PILOT Deal for New 232-Unit Alessi Project Alessi also owns the Duraport Marine and Rail Terminal in the Brady’s Dock neighborhood, which leases space to Eastern Metal Recycling.
Pension Fund Lawsuit and the Alter-Ego Claim
Duramix ceased operations on February 19, 2010, the same day its Teamster drivers went on strike over proposed wage cuts and the company’s decision to stop paying into employee pension plans. The shutdown triggered withdrawal liability under federal pension law. An arbitration found Duramix owed the Trucking Employees of North Jersey Pension Fund $1,924,798, and a federal judgment of $1,316,901.60 was entered against Duramix in August 2012. The money was never collected.9GovInfo. Board of Trustees of Trucking Employees v. 160 East 22nd Street Realty, Memorandum Opinion
In 2015, the pension fund sued not just Duramix but the broader group of Alessi entities and Vincenzo Alessi personally, arguing that the intertwined businesses were alter egos of one another and that Alessi had used the corporate structure to insulate the enterprise from its obligations. Court filings noted that Duramix reportedly owed AOM, the family management company, roughly $5 million in unpaid service fees. In rulings in 2016 and 2017, U.S. District Judge Esther Salas allowed the alter-ego and single-employer claims to proceed while dismissing some counts.5GovInfo. Board of Trustees of Trucking Employees v. 160 East 22nd Street Realty9GovInfo. Board of Trustees of Trucking Employees v. 160 East 22nd Street Realty, Memorandum Opinion
The Marist High School Land Deal and the Whistleblower Suit
The largest legal matter currently facing Alessi involves the former Marist High School property in Bayonne, a 9.5-acre site at the center of a federal whistleblower lawsuit alleging a scheme that netted the Alessi Organization nearly $20 million in public money.
According to the complaint and reporting on the matter, Bayonne City Planner Sue Mack contacted Alessi in November 2021 at the direction of then-Mayor Jimmy Davis to discuss “possible uses of the Marist site.” An Alessi subsidiary, 1241 JFK Boulevard IPX, LLC, bought the property from the city for $11.4 million. In February 2022, the Bayonne City Council approved a redevelopment plan that upzoned the site to allow buildings up to 14 stories. In June 2024, the New Jersey Turnpike Authority then acquired the same property through eminent domain for $31.1 million.10Hudson County View. Lawsuit: $20M Marist Land Sale in Bayonne Was to Enrich an Influential Political Donor
The qui tam complaint under the federal False Claims Act, filed in June 2024 by Bayonne’s former business administrator Melissa Mathews and titled Matthews v. 1241 JFK Boulevard IPX, LLC et al., alleges that Bayonne officials “conspired to transfer certain real property controlled by Bayonne to the Enterprise [Alessi Organization] knowing that the property would be subject of an eminent domain taking by the New Jersey Turnpike Authority.” The suit claims the city then upzoned the property to artificially inflate its value before the taking, generating what the complaint calls a “significant but ill-gotten windfall” and defrauding the public by more than $19.7 million.11NJ.com. Sale of Shuttered NJ Catholic School Was Actually $20M Fraud, Lawsuit Claims
Defendants include the Alessi Organization and its related LLCs, Vincenzo Alessi, several Alessi family members (Susan, Salvatore, Nancy, Gaetano Jr., and Francesco), the City of Bayonne, former Mayor Jimmy Davis (now Hudson County Sheriff), City Planner Suzanne Mack, Council President Gary La Pelusa, and Councilmembers Neil Carroll, Juan Perez, and Sal Gullace.12PACER Monitor. Matthews v. 1241 JFK Boulevard IPX, LLC et al.
The complaint alleges the Alessi Organization improperly influenced Bayonne officials through campaign donations to Davis and council members ahead of the 2022 election. Direct contributions from Francesco Alessi to Davis totaled $2,090 between 2017 and 2021, but the suit alleges the organization used “straw donors” to funnel larger sums. It also claims Davis met with Alessi Organization representatives 11 times in 2021, the year of the sale, and that the city failed to conduct an independent appraisal of the property before selling it.10Hudson County View. Lawsuit: $20M Marist Land Sale in Bayonne Was to Enrich an Influential Political Donor
The case was filed under seal in June 2024 while government authorities reviewed it. In March 2026, after the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the State of New Jersey both declined to intervene, the case was unsealed. It is assigned to U.S. District Judge Stanley R. Chesler and remains active. Defense attorney Christopher Porrino, representing the Alessi subsidiary, has said the defendants intend to seek a prompt dismissal and will pursue reimbursement of legal fees.11NJ.com. Sale of Shuttered NJ Catholic School Was Actually $20M Fraud, Lawsuit Claims Mathews has also filed a related suit in Hudson County Superior Court over the same transaction.13Hudson County View. Lawsuit: Ex-Bayonne BA Says Marist Land Was Upzoned to Benefit Local Developers
Before the whistleblower suit surfaced, the New Jersey Comptroller’s Office had already shown interest in the deal. In March 2023, the Comptroller sued the City of Bayonne for failing to comply with a public records request and a subpoena related to the Marist land sale, though the office never issued a public report based on those records.13Hudson County View. Lawsuit: Ex-Bayonne BA Says Marist Land Was Upzoned to Benefit Local Developers
Brady’s Dock Class Action
In January 2026, residents of the Brady’s Dock neighborhood in Bayonne filed a class-action lawsuit in Hudson County Superior Court against the Duraport Rail Terminal, affiliated Alessi firms, and Eastern Metal Recycling. The suit, filed by Matsikoudis and Fanciullo, accuses the defendants of negligence, trespassing, and creating a public and private nuisance. Residents allege the recycling facility has operated since spring 2023 without proper community notice or necessary state environmental permits, exposing the neighborhood to metallic dust, constant industrial noise, and toxic smoke from multiple multi-alarm fires. The case seeks unspecified compensatory and punitive damages and is ongoing.4Jersey Vindicator. At Brady’s Dock, a Neighborhood Lives Under a Cloud of Dust
Other Regulatory Flags
Alessi’s companies have drawn scrutiny on smaller matters as well. In September 2016, a Bayonne police officer reported an open fire hydrant with a hose connected to the Duraport Marine and Rail Terminal, along with a shutoff box key in the ground and a 4,000-gallon water tank on site, an apparent case of water theft. As of August 2017, eleven months after the report was filed, no sanctions had been imposed on the Alessi Organization. The report came just months after the organization received two long-term tax abatements from the city for a shopping center and a 30-unit apartment complex.14Hudson County View. 11 Months Later, No Sanctions for Bayonne Developer Accused of Stealing Water
In February 2010, Duramix’s Teamster drivers, represented by Local 560, went on strike after the company stopped paying into employee pension plans and sought to cut wages by $9 per hour. The union had filed charges with the National Labor Relations Board in January 2010 alleging that Duramix had unilaterally ceased pension contributions. The company said it could not compete because the union allowed rival firms to pay workers significantly less.15NJ.com. Drivers at Bayonne Concrete Company Go on Strike