George Wylie Thompson

LITTLE ROCK — A Cabot man accused of involvement in an alleged public corruption scheme in North Little Rock was named in a racketeering indictment today linking him to the New York mafia.

George Wylie Thompson, 64, was charged with three Massachusetts men in U.S. District Court at Boston. The indictment is separate from one in which Thompson is named in Arkansas.

In Boston, Thompson is accused with Ralph Deleo, 66, of Somerville, Mass., who federal authorities described as leading member of the Colombo crime family, Edmond Kulesza, 56, also of Somerville, and Franklin Goldman, 66, of Randolph, Mass., of selling cocaine and marijuana in Massachusetts, as well as in Arkansas, Florida, New York and Rhode Island.

The four, known to authorities as the “Deleo Crew,” also are accused of loansharking and extortion.

They were charged today with conspiracy to violate the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act. Each could face up to 20 years in prison and a $500,000 fine if convicted.

In a news release, federal prosecutors said Deleo, was a “street boss” in the Colombo family of La Cosa Nostra, one of the five mob families in New York City.

Federal authorities said the case began in Arkansas as an investigation into alleged illegal activities involving Thompson and others. They said Thompson fled the country shortly after warrants were executed in the case.

He was arrested in Thailand last month and returned to the U.S., where he remains in federal custody. On Nov. 16, he was named in a wide-ranging indictment in Arkansas, including weapons charges and an alleged scheme to rig bids for North Little Rock public works projects.

The same indictment referred to his dealings with an unnamed North Little Rock alderman, later identified as Cary Gaines.

Gaines later resigned from the city council, and in a superseding indictment he was named in two counts, accused of involvement in a kickback scheme related to city construction projects and of lying to the FBI about his dealing with Thompson.

North Little Rock alderman Sam Baggett, a licensed weapons dealer who was indicted along with Gaines, faces six counts in the indictment, including accusations he knowingly sold guns and ammunition to a convicted felon, Thompson.

The indictment also alleges that Baggett failed to keep proper records of sales, also a felony, and that he made statements to the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol and Tobacco and Firearms and Explosives, which also participated in the investigation.

Baggett and Gaines pleaded innocent in a arraignment Monday in U.S. District Court in Little Rock.