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The charging documents were unsealed on Tuesday, Aug. 16 in federal court in Brooklyn, naming the suspects, including a Nassau County police detective, from the Bonanno and Genovese organized crime families, said Breon Peace, US Attorney for the Eastern District of New York.
“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,” stated Peace.
As detailed in the indictments and court filings, beginning in at least May 2012, the Genovese and Bonanno families jointly operated a lucrative illegal gambling operation in Lynbrook, in Nassau County, 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, the indictments said.
In addition to the Gran Caffe, the Genovese crime families operated illegal gambling parlors at establishments called Sal’s Shoe Repair and the Centro Calcio Italiano Club, the indictment said.
The indictment also revealed the Bonanno crime family operated illegal gambling parlors at establishments called the Soccer Club, La Nazionale Soccer Club, and Glendale Sports Club.
The Genovese family was 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, Hector Rosario, a detective with the Nassau County Police Department, accepted money from the Bonanno crime family in exchange for offering to arrange police raids of competing gambling locations.
Rosario is charged with obstructing a grand jury investigation by the US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York and lying to the FBI.
The defendants are:
From Long Island
- Hector Rosario, age 49, of Mineola.
- Joseph Macario, aka "Joe Fish," age 68, of West Islip
- Salvatore Rubino, aka "Sal the Shoemaker," age 58, Bethpage
- Joseph Rutigliano, aka "Joe Box," age 63, Commack (remains at large)
- Mark Feuer, age 59, Oceanside
- Anthony Pipiton, aka, "Little Anthony," age 49, Deer Park
From Queens
- Carmelo Polito, aka "Carmine Polito," age 63, Whitestone
- Agostino Gabriele, age 35, Glendale
From outside New York
- Vito Pipitone, age 40, Wellington, Florida
Results of the arraignment on Tuesday are as follows:
- Nassau County PD Detective Rosario released on a $500,000 bond
- Macario released on a $700,000 bond
- Rubino released on a $150,000 bond
- Feuer released on a $200,000 bond
- Pipitone released on a $2 million bond
- Gabriele released on a $500,000 bond
- Polito released on a $1.1 million bond
Their next court appearance is on Tuesday, Sept. 13.
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