Former mob collector accused of sexual abuse
A former strong-arm collector for a faction of the Rochester mob has been indicted on charges that he sexually abused a Rochester boy.
Indicted was Rochester resident Joseph LoDolce, 67, on charges of first-degree sexual abuse, first-degree criminal sexual act and endangering the welfare of a child.
In the late 1980s LoDolce was tried on accusations that he and other mob associates wielded a steel grip on gambling establishments through extortion. LoDolce was acquitted of racketeering but convicted of conspiracy. A federal judge sentenced him to seven years after determining that LoDolce was a “minor” player in the organized crime gambling rings.
LoDolce also was acquitted in a 1984 racketeering trial that led to lengthy sentences for seven mob figures.
LoDolce was arrested on Oct. 11 after a boy, who was staying at LoDolce’s home, alleged that he awoke with LoDolce trying to sexually abuse him, according to police records. The boy told police that he and his mother had befriended LoDolce and the boy would occasionally visit LoDolce’s home, an arrest report states.
Police allege that the boy was sleeping over at LoDolce’s home when LoDolce sexually abused him. In a statement, LoDolce told police that he had only unbuckled the boy’s pants but had gone no further, according to an arrest report.
The boy’s age was redacted in the police report available to the public.
In his interview with police, the boy said LoDolce had told him “he was affiliated with the mob, but not actually a member,” according to the arrest report. “(LoDolce) said that he grew up with those guys and he said he would help collect money for the mob.”
LoDolce referred to himself as “the muscle,” the boy said, according to the report.
LoDolce was also accused in 1989 of the sexual abuse of a 10-year-old boy. It is unclear from news accounts whether LoDolce was acquitted or if the charge was resolved with the conspiracy conviction. There is no record of a felony conviction in Monroe County Clerk’s Office records.
Federal Bureau of Prisons records show LoDolce was released from federal prison in 1994.
A grand jury indicted LoDolce on Oct. 30 on the latest criminal charges. He is scheduled for arraignment Nov. 17. When first arrested, he pleaded not guilty to the charges in City Court.
