ALBANY — FBI agents this week used federal search warrants to seize electronic devices and other materials from the businesses and residences tied to a family that has operated multiple barbershops in the Capital Region and South Florida, according to two people with knowledge of the matter.
Federal agents also seized undisclosed items from a vehicle in Saratoga County that was being driven by a person of interest in the investigation, which the two sources said is related to alleged money laundering and loan-sharking activities connected to offshore gambling.
The barbershops, including one in Naples, Fla., are operated by members of the Federico family, whose electronic devices were seized. Those individuals have not been accused of wrongdoing in the larger investigation, the sources said.
“I can confirm FBI personnel were conducting court-authorized activity at those locations in connection with an ongoing federal investigation,” Sarah Ruane, a spokeswoman for the FBI, told the Times Union late Friday. “Due to the ongoing nature, I’m not able to provide any additional information.”
One of the businesses, Vinny’s Barbershop in Malta, was packed with customers on Friday. The owner of the shop, Vinny Federico, was not at the business and did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Efforts to reach other members of the Federico family were not successful on Thursday and Friday.
The family’s extended businesses include “The Barber Parlor,” which has a website that lists addresses for some barbershops in the Capital Region that are no longer there. The barbershop in South Florida remains in business.
The Barber Parlor’s website includes a script describing how Giuseppe “Joe” Federico Sr. “came here from Italy and sailed straight into the Bronx. He soon met his wife Anna Federico, who also sailed in from the old country. Together they had three boys and moved to Albany N.Y.”
The posting then identifies those boys as “Francesco ‘Franco’, Vincenzo ‘Jimmy’, and Giuseppe ‘Joey’ Federico,” adding that they “all took after their father not only in looks but also in passion for the barbering industry.” It added that the three sons “collectively own six barber shops in the Capital Region, thanks to Joe,” and that Giuseppe Federico is the owner of The Barber Parlor and has been a licensed barber since 2005.