Queens gambling ring busted days ahead of Super Bowl
Queens gambling ring busted days ahead of Super Bowl
Five suspects, including alleged kingpin Christopher Morrissey, of Yonkers, were charged in the operation that collected hundreds of thousands of dollars in bets annually on the big game and other sporting events.
Doug Menuez/Getty ImagesA Queens gambling ring was busted and its operators charged with taking hundreds of thousands of dollars in bets annually.A lucrative Queens gambling ring was sacked by investigators just three days before the biggest betting day of the year: the Super Bowl. Five suspects were charged in a Thursday indictment with collecting hundreds of thousands of dollars in bets annually on pro football, basketball, hockey and baseball, along with college hoops and football. Two other men were charged in a separate indictment with promoting gambling in Queens. The indictments “send a clear signal that when it comes to illegal gambling in Queens County, all bets are off,” said Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown. The charges followed a two-year joint investigation by the organized crime operations of both the NYPD and the district attorney’s offices. Wiretapped phones, along with surveillance and intelligence information, led to the 34-count indictment, authorities said. The ring used a website and a toll-free number to keep their operation easily available to interested gamblers, authorities charged. Though a relatively small operation, the ring was able to “reap huge profits” between February 2013-April 2014, said Brown. Christopher Morrissey, 42, of Yonkers, was identified as the kingpin of the operation and charged with enterprise corruption, money-laundering, promoting gambling and conspiracy. He faces up to 25 years in prison if convicted. Arrested along with him were Mitch Fusco, 51, of Yonkers; Louis Cavalli, 56, of Yonkers; Sean Murtagh, 42, of Mount Vernon; and Brian Hull, 37, of the Bronx. Two Queens men were charged with promoting gambling by taking more than five bets totaling more than $5,000 per day between Nov. 4-14, 2013.
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