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The Justice Department on Tuesday announced unsealed indictments charging an allegedly corrupt Nassau County police officer and other associates members of purported Mafia families with racketeering and other offenses for allegedly running illegal gambling dens throughout New York City and Long Island.
Two indictments charged nine defendants — alleged members and associates of the Genovese and Bonanno organized crime families — with operating the dens fronted as legitimate businesses, including several Italian soccer and sports clubs in Queens, Valley Stream and West Babylon; a coffee shop in Lynbrook and a shoe repair shop in Merrick, some of which were frequented by unsuspecting customers unaware of the closed-door illegal operations.
Nassau County Police Department Det. Hector Rosario, 49, of Mineola, N.Y., is accused of accepting money from the Bonanno crime family in exchange for offering to arrange police raids of competing gambling locations. He is charged with obstructing a grand jury investigation and lying to the FBI.
The other defendants’ nicknames include "Joe Fish," "Carmine Polito," "Sal the Shoemaker," "Joe Box," and "Little Anthony." Eight of the defendants facing racketeering, illegal gambling, money laundering conspiracy, obstruction of justice, and related offenses were arrested Tuesday morning.
Nassau County Police Department Det. Hector Rosario is seen walking from Brooklyn federal court. (WNYW)
Seven defendants were to be arraigned Tuesday afternoon before U.S. Magistrate Judge James R. Cho. Vito Pipitone, 40, was arrested in Wellington, Florida, and was to make his initial appearance Tuesday afternoon in federal court in Miami. Suspect Joseph Rutigliano remains at large.
"Today’s arrests of members from two La Cosa Nostra crime families demonstrate that the Mafia continues to pollute our communities with illegal gambling, extortion and violence while using our financial system in service to their criminal schemes," Breon Peace, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, said in a statement. "The defendants tried to hide their criminal activity by operating from behind the cover of a coffee bar, a soccer club and a shoe repair shop, but our Office and our law enforcement partners exposed their illegal operations."
"Even more disturbing is the shameful conduct of a detective who betrayed his oath of office and the honest men and women of the Nassau County Police Department when he allegedly aligned himself with criminals," Peace added.
Beginning in May 2012, the Genovese and Bonanno families jointly operated a lucrative illegal gambling operation in Lynbrook, N.Y., called the Gran Caffe, according to the DOJ. The profits earned through that site 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.
Large bulletin board showing photographs of bosses, underbosses, capos and soldiers in five NY organized crime families, Bonanno, Colombo, Gambino, Genovese and Luchese. (Marianne Barcellona/Getty Images)
Carmelo Polito, an alleged acting captain in the Genovese crime family, is also charged with operating an illegal online gambling scheme in which bets were placed on sporting events through a website called "PGWLines." In connection with his operation of PGWLines, Polito is charged with attempting to extort an individual who lost several thousand dollars in bets he placed through the website.
For example, in an October 2019 call concerning a delinquent debtor whose "face" Polito had reportedly previously threatened to "break," Polito instructed another individual to relay a new message to the debtor: "Tell him I’m going to put him under the f------g bridge," according to court documents.
Eastern District of New York Attorney Breon Peace speaks during a press conference about the extradition of Colombian drug lord Dairo Antonio Usuga, aka Otoniel, in New York City on May 5, 2022. (KENA BETANCUR/AFP via Getty Images)
Michael J. Driscoll, Assistant Director-in-Charge of the FBI’s New York Field Office, said that "current members of the five families demonstrate every day they are not adverse [sic] to working together to further their illicit schemes, using the same tired methods to squeeze money from their victims."
"Enlisting alleged assistance from a member of law enforcement also proves they are willing to do all they can to hide their illegal behavior," Driscoll added. "Our active investigations show the mafia refuses to learn from history and accept that at some point they will face justice for their crimes."
"This case is further proof that organized crime is alive and well in our communities," Nassau County District Attorney Anne T. Donnelly said in a statement. "These violent criminal organizations operated secret underground gambling parlors in local commercial establishments, generating substantial amounts of money in back rooms while families unknowingly shopped and ate mere feet away."
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"These Mafia figures were assisted by a sworn member of law enforcement, who helped these gambling dens to thrive by offering police raids on competing clubs," she added. "The Mafia has brought untold violence and extortion into our neighborhoods for decades, even threatening the life of an individual as part of this case. This indictment sends a strong message that we are committed to rooting out corruption and organized crime. We thank the EDNY, the FBI and the Nassau County Police Department DA Squad for their partnership in helping to keep our communities safe."
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