Crime is a fluid industry.

To that end, ethnically-organized crime isn’t as rigid as one might think. It’s equal parts profit and self-preservation, a former lifetime player says, and it knows few genealogical bounds.

Case in point: John Alite — an Albanian, but once a member of Gambino boss John A. “Junior” Gotti’s inner circle — says he relied on a member of the Latin Kings as a conspirator for a La Cosa Nostra murder at Rockaway Beach in New York City in the early 1990s.

Bruce Gotterup was shot to death in 1991 by Gambino associate John Burke. In a recent interview with The Republican, Alite said the Latin Kings member was a peripheral part of the plan; such a hit typically includes a primary shooter, a second shooter in case someone’s gun jams, a wheel man and a lookout, at a minimum.

“Of course we used them ... the Latin King was the brother-in-law of someone who was around me,” said Alite, among the most notorious turncoats of the Gambino crime family. He was mostly recently sentenced in 2011 to 10 years in federal prison in exchange for his testimony against Gotti Jr. for two gangland murders and a laundry list of other crimes. Since he had already served six years in prison, he was released four years later.

Alite and others say the barriers of ethnic street gangs are a thing of the distant past. La Cosa Nostra mixes and contracts with Latino gangs, Bloods and Crips, biker gangs and street posses for the sake of violence and profits, according to Alite.

“People don’t understand — in our world, killing is easy,” said Alite, who has since denounced gang life, co-authored a tell-all called “Gotti’s Rules” in addition to other memoirs, and delivers speeches to schoolchildren. “The easy part is to pull the trigger. The more difficult thing is to do it and not get caught. So, you need people you trust around you. I might give a murder to someone inside my crew or outside my crew.”

In Greater Springfield, the melding of organized crime groups has come front and center in recent headlines. A racketeering indictment against more than 60 defendants identified as Latin King leaders by the FBI was unsealed on Dec. 5, resulting in dozens of arrests linked to allegations of murder plots, assaults, drug- and gun-trafficking.

The alleged regional boss, Michael Cecchetelli — aka “King Merlin,” 40, of Springfield — is of Italian heritage but rose to the upper ranks of the hierarchy in the traditionally Latino street gang. He was dubbed the “Supreme East Coast Overseer” at the time of his indictment.

Retired Springfield FBI Special Agent Clifford Hedges agrees with Alite in that organized gangs often collaborate after forming alliances in prison. During his 26 years with the agency, Hedges even went undercover as a motorcycle parts dealer to embed with the Diablos Motorcycle Gang in the 1990s. That investigation resulted in a sweeping racketeering indictment in 1996.

Hedges was able to get a bird’s-eye-view of would-be murder plots and drug trafficking for a robust criminal enterprise.

He said the Diablos often went to Latin Kings in Holyoke for their cocaine supply. Italian-based organized crime crews in Hartford and Bridgeport, Connecticut, and in Springfield also turned to biker gangs as “the muscle” at a network of mob-controlled strip clubs.

“They get called upon for a lot of the thumping at the strip bars and for narcotics trafficking to an extent,” Hedges said. “These gangs and organized crime folks came to the decision that it’s better to work together for profit than not. It’s better to work as a team, than not."

Michael Cecchetelli appears in Hampden Superior court in May 1998. The Republican file

Cecchetelli used his Mediterranean ties to help Latin King members infiltrate the historically Italian-American Mount Carmel Society social club, according to an FBI affidavit filed in connection with the racketeering case. His uncles — David and Rudy Cecchetelli — have strong ties to the club at 13 Winthrop St. At least two gang summits took place there earlier this year, according to the FBI. Mayor Domenic J. Sarno responded by announcing plans to yank the club’s liquor and entertainment licenses, calling the allegations “an embarrassment to Italians.”

Italian-American leaders at the club, however, had been more than happy for years to earn revenues from “Latin Nights” and other events, city records show.

Michael Cecchetelli has identified as a Latin King — and a social activist on behalf of the gang — since at least the late-1990s, according to published reports in the Union-News, a predecessor to The Republican. In 1998, when he was 18, he was charged with receiving stolen property — guns Cecchetelli told police he bought “from crack dealers in Springfield" — and prosecutors said he already held a statewide leadership position with the gang.

He also was indicted in Hampden Superior Court for assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, a bat, and single counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, a knife; assault and battery; malicious damage to property in excess of $250; and disorderly conduct.

The resolution of those cases was not immediately available.

At social justice rallies the year before, Cecchetelli self-identified as a “Cacique” and head of the Massachusetts Chapter of the Almighty Latin King and Queen Nation, and as a spokesman for the gang. He said the gang was turning away from violence — pointing to their decision not to retaliate after a rival gang shot at a Latin Kings member in Holyoke — and beginning to engage in activism.

“Instead of going back to the old ways of retaliation, I’m trying to find another way,” Cecchetelli told a reporter in 1997.

Michael D. Cecchetelli, right, attends a 1997 press conference announcing plans for a rally in Springfield calling for social and economic justice. At the time, Cecchetelli also identified himself as Michael Reyes, and said he was the Supreme Crown Cacique of the Latin Kings in Massachusetts. The others featured in the photo had no affiliation with the street gang.The Republican file

A former law enforcement official who investigated Michael Cecchetelli in the 90s said Cecchetelli adopted the alternate “Reyes” surname solely to gain more credibility on the streets.

“The Latin Kings manifesto was very strict at the time. Its members were supposed to trace their heritage in some way back to Puerto Rico, but obviously no one was checking credentials very carefully,” the retired investigator said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Soon enough though, he added, “King Merlin” gained enough stature in the game so it didn’t much matter anymore.

Michael Cecchetelli was charged federally in 2005 on another illegal firearms charge, pleaded guilty and was sentenced to three years in prison. He was released in 2009 and has continued his rise through the ranks, according to the latest indictment. During the raid of their shared apartment in Forest Park, David Cecchetelli — though not accused with having any affiliation with the Latin Kings — was arrested and charged for allegedly having illegal ammunition under his bed. He pleaded not guilty.

With longtime ties to the “Springfield crew” of the Genovese crime family, David Cecchetelli previously served an eight-month prison sentence for felony bookmaking. However, he has lately reinvented himself as an actor and social media personality who appears to have cozied up with Gotti Jr. — at least on those platforms.

An image featured on his Instagram page, “chickytheginniofficial,” shows Gotti Jr. and his son, with an unsmiling “King Merlin” to their left at the Twin River Casino Hotel, according to the post.

Michael Cecchetelli is being held without the right to bail following his arraignment on the current case.

Alite said the more time you spend behind bars in a variety of prisons, the more alliances you’re liable to strike over the years.

“I was in prison with a Latin King in Florida. His name was ‘Revenge’ He was a high-ranking Latin King but he was my friend. We had the first seats in front of the TV,” Alite said, referring to prison protocol.