New Yorker Imprisoned for Running Illegal Gambling

Recent reports from New York find that a mobster will be sent to prison over running a racketeering conspiracy and illegal gambling scheme. The culprit, 37-year-old Michael Poli, was slapped with a 31-month sentence in the Manhattan federal court for illegal gambling and extortion. He is following his father’s path who received a similar sentence a while back.

His father is Thomas Poli who is aged 66 and previously got a sentence from prosecutors for 22 months. The elder Mr. Poli will start serving his sentence on September 29, 2023, while his son will start his one a month later on October 27, 2023. The two were accused of participating in a Bronx-based bookkeeping gang that was busted in April 2022.

Poli’s Defense

The attorney for Mr. Poli, Anthony DiPietro requested leniency in the sentencing, and his argument was based on the fact that the family would suffer with both men being incarcerated. The lawyer claimed that Michael was a good man and he is needed to support his children, the third of whom was born with Down Syndrome.

However, Assistant US Attorney Cecilia Cohen indicated Mr. Poli’s threats of violence to debtors whom he had dragged into the scheme. She explained that he made verbal threats and threats with a firearm. In addition to that, Mr. Poli also pleaded guilty to a federal racketeering case from 2016. He is set to step into jail on October 27, 2023.

Provided that he pleaded guilty to racketeering, he will now face a 31-month sentence, instead of 41 to 51 months in prison. Its jail time also features three years of supervised release and a US$15,000 fine. The two co-defendants Nicholas Calisi and John Campanella were sentenced to 24 months and 13 months respectively. They were also part of the illegal gambling operations.

New York Deals with More Unlawful Gambling

It is not uncommon for New York authorities to discover illegal gambling operations. Last summer, the NYPD busted a Mafia-owned betting parlour, at Sal’s Shoe Repair in Merrick, Long Island. The culprits are part of the Genovese and Bonanno families and they will face racketeering and unlawful gambling charges. Some of the arrested were Salvatore “Sal the Shoemaker” Rubino, Anthony “Little Anthony” Pipotone, and Carmelo Polito.

On a more recent note, in July 2023, a federal jury gave its ruling on a case of seven individuals being involved in running illegal gambling operations in Rochester, New York. The seven defendants have been found guilty of running illegal poker games at 565 Blossom Road and offering unlawful sports betting activities through a website titled sport700.com.

Two of the defendants are Louis P. Ferrari II and Dominic Sprague and they co-owned and ran the poker games, while Mr. Ferrari operated the sports book through the website. According to Assistant U.S. Attorney Meghan K. McGuire’s report, he accumulated US$2,241,172 in unlawful winnings, while Anthony Amato, who oversaw the website, generated US$8,945,629 in proceeds.

Source: Vanbiber, Hannah “Like Father, Like Son: New York Mobster Joins Dad In Jail For Illegal Gambling Scheme” PlayNY, August 23, 2023