'Sopranos' actor busted for role in mob gambling ring

'Sopranos' actor busted for role in mob gambling ring
By WILLIAM J. GORTA


A bit actor who has appeared in "The Sopranos" and "Boardwalk Empire" was collared for his role in a mob-connected gambling ring in Brooklyn, the state Attorney General’s office announced today.

John Marinacci, 56, was a low-level functionary in a “Gambino Bookmaking Enterprise,” soliciting bettors, collecting money and taking a percentage of the losing bets, according to an indictment brought today by the AG.

CHART OF THE GAMBLING OPERATIONS (PDF)

The ring operated between April 2010 and April 2011 and investigators collected a “great deal of wiretap evidence,” according to Deputy Attorney General Peri Alyse Kadanoff.


Thirty-six other people were arrested in “Operation Flat Rate,” including a city sanitation worker and Vincent Romano and James Outerie, made members of the Gambino crime family, according to the AG’s office.

Three other Gambino associates were also arrested, the AG’s office said.

Marinacci, who is also a professional gambler who teaches people how to lay poker, appeared in two episodes of The Sopranos in 2004 (“In Camelot” and “All Happy Families”) as “Dealer.”

The Internet Movie Database website also lists Marinacci among the actors in the “Broadway Limited” episode of Boardwalk Empire, but does not name his character.

He was charged with one count enterprise corruption, 30 counts of promoting gambling, 30 counts of possession of gambling records and one count of conspiracy.

Marinacci faces up to in prison if convicted on the top charge, enterprise corruption. He was released on $25,000 bond.

There were three separate gambling operations brought down in the operation: two sports books and a policy operation.

Sanitation worker Louis Lombardo, 41, was the banker of one of one of the operations, according to the indictment.

He was released on $125,000 bond after he was charged with enterprise corruption and conspiracy.

Lombardo, who joined Sanitation in 2006 and was assigned to the Citywide Transportation Unit, must report to the department disciplinarians before he can return to work.



AG Schneiderman, NYPD's Kelly: Bust In Gambino-Tied Loansharking/Gambling Scheme
BY Celeste Katz

Thirty-seven people have been arrested and charged with loansharking and gambling crimes in connection with the Gambino crime family, state Attorney General Eric Schneiderman and NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly said.

"Operation Flat Rate" came together in a series of pre-dawn raids by the AG's Organized Crime Task Force and the NYPD's Organized Crime Investigations Division.

The agencies targed alleged Gambino soldiers Vincent Romano and James Outerie and alleged Gambino associates Louis Lombardo, Louis Peteroy, Frank Esposito, Christopher Sorrentino, Nicolas Fulciniti and others.

Officials two illegal sports gambling operations "were run through offshore wire rooms that handled wagers on college and professional sports, as well as horse races. According to the charges, these gambling operations generated millions of dollars worth of wagers," the agencies said.

One of the enterprises was also a "policy" or numbers scheme where loansharking victims placed bets -- sometimes involuntarily -- on the New York Lottery and Win 4 numbers to finance the operation.

In three of the five indictments unsealed in Kings County today, 35 defendants are charged with Enterprise Corruption based on a pattern of gambling and loansharking schemes. The Enterprise Corruption by itself carries a maximum penalty of 8 1/3 to 25 years in prison.