The Colombo members - including Thomas Gioeli, 55, considered the acting mob boss - face charges of racketeering conspiracy, robbery, extortion, narcotics trafficking, and loansharking, as well as murder, according to a Department of Justice statement.

Three other Colombo clan members, including alleged family underboss John 'Sonny' Franzese, 89, were also named in the indictments but are already incarcerated on separate charges.

'The message could not be any clearer - we will not rest until the violent scourge of organised crime is eliminated,' said US prosecutor Benton Campbell of the Eastern District of New York.

The indictment documents the Colombo family's 'brazen use of violence - including murder - to earn money, seek revenge, and obstruct justice,' the DOJ statement read.

'Our most powerful strategy in countering organised crime families is to effect a vertical takedown of the organization,' said FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge Mark Mershon. 'The very serious charges announced today hold accountable the leadership, mid-management, soldiers, and associates who constitute a key component of the Colombo family.'

The mob family takedown took place after another spectacular operation in February against the Cosa Nostra, carried out simultaneously in New York and Sicily, when the top leaders and more than 50 members of the Gambino family were brought down. -- AFP