NEW YORK (AP):

American and Italian authorities arrested dozens of people yesterday in a takedown of the remnants of New York's Gambino crime family. It was also meant to cripple a transatlantic drug trafficking operation run by the Mafia.

The international law enforcement operation, code-named Old Bridge, was centred on New York and the Sicilian capital of Palermo, targeting Mafia figures who were strengthening contacts between mob groups in Italy and the United States.

As part of one of law enforcement's biggest moves against the mob in recent memory, a federal grand jury in New York accused 62 people of ties to the Gambinos and murders, drug trafficking, robberies, extortion, and other crimes dating back to the 1970s.

"Today we are able to bring closure to crimes from the past," US Attorney Benton Campbell said. "Today we seek justice for those men and their families and we make clear that those crimes and those victims are not forgotten."

"It's a fallacy to think organised crime murders occur within the closed shop," said Mike Mershon, head of the FBI's New York office.

As of Thursday morning, the FBI had arrested 54 people in New York City and its northern suburbs, New Jersey and Long Island. Among the 29 people sought in Italy were members of clans linked to Salvatore Lo Piccolo, the Sicilian Mafia boss arrested in November, Italian officials said.

Gangland killings

The sprawling US indictment covers gangland killings from the days when the Gambino family was run by Paul Castellano, who was murdered in 1985. Some of the charges allege more recent crimes including credit fraud conspiracies and theft of union benefits.

In the 170-page indictment, authorities allege that associates of the crime family extorted people in the construction industry, embezzled from labour unions and engaged in loansharking and bookmaking. The massive investigation also includes charges brought in state court.