Photo Courtesy of U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of NY
U.S. Attorney Peace said, “The Mafia continues to pollute our communities.”
By Michael V. Cusenza
Nine reputed members of the Genovese and Bonanno organized crime families have been indicted for their roles in running illegal gambling at six sites, including two in Queens, federal prosecutors announced Tuesday.
As alleged, charged in the indictments unsealed in Brooklyn federal court are:
Anthony Pipitone, a captain and soldier in the Bonanno organized crime family of La Cosa
Nostra; Vito Pipitone, Bonanno soldier; Agostino Gabriele, Bonanno associate; Carmelo
Polito, acting captain in the Genovese organized crime family; Joseph Macario, Genovese soldier; and Genovese associates Salvatore Rubino and Joseph Rutigliano.
Nassau County Det. Hector Rosario has also been charged with obstructing a grand jury investigation by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District and lying to the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Eight defendants were arrested Tuesday morning. Joe Rutigliano is on the run.
Photo Courtesy of Google
The Bonannos operated illegal gambling parlors at borough establishments, including Glendale Sports Club.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of NY, Rosario, 49, has been released on a $500,000 bond; Gabriele, 35, a Glendale resident, has been released on a $500,000 bond; Anthony Pipitone, 49, has been released on a $2 million bond; Feuer, 59, has been released on a $200,000 bond; Rubino, 58, has been released on a $150,000 bond; Polito, 63, of Whitestone, has been released on a $1.1 million bond; and Macario, 68, has been released on a $700,000 bond.
As detailed in the indictments and court filings, members of the Genovese and
Bonanno families operated several illegal gambling operations in Queens and on Long Island. Beginning in at least May 2012, the Genovese and Bonanno families jointly operated a lucrative illegal gambling operation in Lynbrook called the Gran Caffe. The profits earned through this and other gambling locations generated substantial revenue, which was then laundered through cash transfers to the defendants and through “kicking up” to the crime families’ leaders. Rutigliano and Rubino collected the proceeds for the Genovese family and distributed them up to higher-ranking members, including Polito and Macario. At times, Gabriele collected the proceeds for the Bonannos and distributed them up to higher-ranking members of that family, including Anthony Pipitone and Vito Pipitone.
In addition to the Gran Caffe, the Genovese family—through Polito, Macario,
Rutigliano, Rubino and others—operated illegal gambling parlors at establishments called
Sal’s Shoe Repair and the Centro Calcio Italiano Club. The Bonannos—through
Anthony Pipitone, Vito Pipitone, Gabriele and others—operated illegal gambling parlors at borough establishments called the Soccer Club, La Nazionale Soccer Club in Glendale and Glendale Sports Club.
Polito, an alleged acting Genovese captain, is also charged with operating an illegal online gambling scheme in which bets were placed on sporting events through a website called “PGWLines.”
As also detailed in the indictments and other court filings, Rosario allegedly accepted money from the Bonannos in exchange for offering to arrange police raids of competing gambling locations.
“[T]he Mafia continues to pollute our communities,” Brooklyn U.S. Attorney Breon Peace said on Tuesday.
