October 15, 1997

The man described by Federal prosecutors as the acting underboss and second-ranking member of the Genovese organized crime family was sentenced yesterday to 21 months in prison for his role in extorting money from a construction union.

The man, Michael Generoso, 80, had pleaded guilty to conspiring to extort payoffs from officers and employees of Local 46 of the Mason Tenders District Council of Greater New York, prosecutors said.

Judge Lewis A. Kaplan of Federal District Court in Manhattan also sentenced Mr. Generoso to 30 months of home confinement and fined him $4,000. He had previously forfeited approximately $248,000 to the Government as part of his plea, in which prosecutors also dropped murder and racketeering charges against Mr. Generoso.