Alex Conigliaro, a reputed member of the Genovese organized crime family from Staten Island, pleaded guilty this week to conducting an illegal gambling business. Conigliaro had been accused of racketeering and a variety of other crimes, but those charges were dropped in the plea bargain agreement.
Mr. Conigliaro was one of 46 alleged mobsters who were arrested in August 2016 on a variety of charges, which including illegal gambling operations and money laundering. Each of the 46 men arrested were accused of associations with the Philadelphia Organized Crime Families of La Cosa Nostra, or with one of the Five Families of the New York City mafia.
46 Mobsters Indicted of Illegal Gambling Operations
Four of the five crime families were listed in the charges: the Genovese, Gambino, Bannano, or Luchese crime families. The Colombo crime family was not mentioned. In all, the group operated a multi-state criminal empire along the eastern seaboard, ranging all the way from Massachusetts to Florida.
The Genovese Crime Family is considered the “Ivy League” or “Rolls-Royce” of the New York City mafia groups. Its former leaders include Lucky Luciano, Vito Genovese, and Vincent “The Chin” Gigante.
Vincent Gigante (pictured above) was known as “The Oddfather”, because he wandered New York City in a bathrobe, pretending to be insane. Since Gigante died in 2005, the leadership of the Genovese is less certain, but it remains a powerful and feared organized crime syndicate.
Extortion of a Sports Bettor
In addition to the illegal gambling charges, Alex Conigliaro was charged with extorting money from a victim in 2012. Along with co-defendant John “Tugboat” Tognino, Conigliaro is alleged to have ran an illegal sports betting ring.
The two men suspected an unnamed gambler was allowing professional sports bettors to make wager, which put Tognino and Conigliaro at a $400,000 disadvantage. After summoning the man to a Bronx restaurant, Conigliaro, a capo, and a third mobster were accused of threatening and intimidating the man. The defendent ultimately refused to pay the $400,000 he owed to the man.
Up to a 14-Month Sentence
The plea bargain required Conigliaro to admit to running an illegal gambling business (presumably poker) from 2011 to 2014. He also admitted to overseeing and financing an illegal bookmakers and sports betting operation over the same period of time. Details of that operation were sketchy.
Documents only said the operation lasted “for more than 30 days” and generated $2000 in a single day. If that was its best day, it would be a significantly smaller sports betting operation than others which have been busted in the New York City area over the past 5 years.
Sentencing for Mr. Conigliaro is October 26 in a Manhattan federal court. In the meantime, the judge authorized the removal of the convicted’s electronic monitoring ankle bracelet and lifted a curfew on him, so he should remain free until late-October. Sentencing guidelines called for a range of prison time between 8 months and 14 months, though the judge is not bound by the sentencing guidelines.
2004 Illegal Gambling Charges
This is not the first time Alex Conigliaro faced illegal gambling and extortion charges. In 2004, the Staten Island operator was accused of remarkably similar crimes. He beat those 2004 extortion and illegal gambling charges, along with 5 other defendents. Once again, he was accused of running a sports betting business that made at least $2000-a-day illegally.
Previous organized sports betting rings in the New York City area generated tens of millions of dollars in illegal gaming revenues. A Florida illegal bookmaking service is thought to have taken over $100 million in bets, while a New York City/Los Angeles illegal poker syndicate for high rollers and celebrities reportedly handled several hundred millions of dollars in act.
