The goon leading a violent Albanian extortion crew in Queens got a 57-year sentence Friday.
Brooklyn federal judge Eric Vitaliano smacked Redinel Dervishaj with the stiff prison term after jurors said he was guilty of shaking down small business owners in Astoria.
The judge’s punishment could effectively mean a life sentence for the 40-year-old Dervishaj.
Dervishaj teamed up with Besnik Llakatura, a New York City police officer at the time, and Denis Nikolla. Llakatura and Nikolla pleaded guilty for their roles. Vitaliano recently sentenced Nikolla to 18 years. The ex-cop is awaiting sentence.
One of the people they hounded was a restaurateur. The trio took $24,000 from the man over five months.
The victim made the mistake of opening an eatery in “our neighborhood,” Dervishaj said. The restaurateur called his friend Llakatura to ask for help, but Llakatura warned against reporting to police.
According to Llakatura, Dervishaj was linked to fearsome Albanian wiseguys, like Dervishaj’s brother Plaurent. Prosecutors said Dervishaj’s brother lived freely in Albania — even though he was the country’s most wanted fugitive and wanted for numerous murders.
The restaurateur escaped Nikolla’s armed chase at one point. Dervishaj then called the guy from a pay phone and he “got lucky this time” but he was “not going to get lucky anymore.”
