Four alleged members of the New England chapter of La Cosa Nostra were arrested and charged yesterday with racketeering, extortion and more, in a Providence, Rhode Island, court according to a statement made by Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer and other law enforcement officials.

Those charged are Eduardo Lato, 64; Alfred Scivola, 70; Raymond R. Jenkins, 47; and Albino Folcarelli, 53.  They were arrested yesterday and eached charged ith an array of crimes.

“Relying on violence and intimidation to carry out their illegal activities, organized criminal groups often act as though if they operate in the shadows, they will escape punishment,” said Assistant Attorney General Breuer. “As today’s arrests show, they couldn’t be more wrong. Our law enforcement operations over the past nine months should make clear that we are zeroing in on La Cosa Nostra and other organized criminal groups, and that we will not rest until our work is done.”

This is the second superceding indictment in this case.  The first charged were LCN boss Luigi Manocchio and his associates Thomas Iafrate, Richard Bonafiglia and Theodore Cardillo.  Iafrate pleaded guilty in July 2011 to racketeering conspiracy.  In total, 127 alleged members of LCN have been charged as a continuing action against organized crime.

“As Attorney General Holder said in New York last January, battling all forms of organized crime, including La Cosa Nostra, remains a priority for the Department of Justice,” said U.S. Attorney Neronha. “It remains a priority because history has demonstrated that, unchecked, it extends its tentacles into our citizens’ everyday lives. Let no one doubt the commitment of law enforcement to keeping this threat off balance and on the run.”

The new charges allege that since the mid 1980s, the LCN members in question used threatened or implied force, violence and fear to extort regular payments from the business owners of places such as the Cadillac Lounge, the Satin Doll, the Foxy Lady, Desire and other adult entertainment business in Providence, Rhode Island, and other places.

Shepherds we shall be. To our local video store. For Boondock Saints on Blu-ray. February 10.

Set for $34.99, the Boondock Saints Blu-ray features deleted scenes and outakes with commentary from cast and crew and a special director’s cut.

We would like to see a “Saints” documentary or featurette — something NEW that you couldn’t find on the DVD and Special Edition DVD of the movie.

Boondock Saints is one of the great cult classics of all time, but moreso if you live in Boston.

Just in case you aren’t familiar:

Irish brothers Connor and Murphy MacManus live and work in South Boston. After killing a Russian mobster in self-defense, the brothers believe they have found their calling from God ridding the earth of human evil. So they set out to complete their divine deed by ridding the streets of gangsters, criminals and lowlifes; and as the body count rises, the brothers become local heroes (deemed the “Boondock Saints”) even as the police are on their trail. By risking their lives for their beliefs of Veritas (truth) and Aequitas (justice), the vigilante brothers take the law into their own hands”¦until they are pursued by unorthodox FBI agent Paul Smecker who follows their trail of bloodshed, but admits that the boys are doing exactly what he has always secretly wished to happen.

Hundreds of Twilight fans were upset early Wednesday morning when they were turned away from Orland Square Mall in Chicago. Many came prepared to wait in the cold rain for hours, but that wasn’t necessary – mall security decided to sell the wristbands and t-shirts needed for entrance into Rob Pattinson’s presence early to avoid the same sort of fiasco that San Francisco fans experienced, but therein created a fiasco of their own. Wristbands that were not to be passed out until 7:30 that morning were gone by 2 AM.Liz Waters, who we’ve talked to before about her website twilight20somethings.com, was one of the many turned away this morning.

“It was only 1:15 and all these people were arriving and were so excited because there was no line and they thought they were first – but it was already sold out. There were people that had driven 10 hours to get there, and got there at the specified time, and were turned away.”

Security was strict in making sure all of the twi-fans left the premises, telling them that they were trespassing on mall property. Waters was confused by the mall’s change.

“We were told that we could start lining up at 4:30 and that anyone camping out before hand would be arrested. Instead, they gave wristbands to the people camped out at midnight and turned away the people following the rules.”

While anyone can attend the Q & A session with Rob later tonight, only those lucky 500 fans will be able to meet him or get a poster signed.