|
Middlesex County Crime
Limone And Three Others Arrested, 16
More Indicted In Connection With Organized Crime Activities
140 Total Indictments Allege Illegal Bookmaking, Loan-Sharking,
And Extortion Crimes
 WOBURN
– Four men have been arrested and 16 others indicted in connection
with their involvement in two separate organized crime organizations,
Middlesex District Attorney Gerry Leone informed the public today. The
defendants are alleged to have derived hundreds of thousands of dollars
in illegal proceeds by their involvement in illegal bookmaking
operations, with members of the first organization engaging in crimes
including loan-sharking and extortion.
Peter Limone, 74, of Medford
was arrested at his home in Medford
at approximately
4 p.m. today. Limone is accused of
heading an illegal gaming organization that spans the Greater Boston
area. Other members of Limone’s organization arrested today were:
·
Thomas Palladino, 75, of
Malden
·
Joseph DiPrizio, 50, of
Florida
·
Anthony Squillante, 73, of
Boston.
All four arrested defendants are scheduled to be arraigned Friday
morning in Woburn
Superior Court.
 “We
allege that Mr. Limone headed an extensive organized crime ring,
engaging in crimes of illegal gaming, extortion, and loan-sharking
throughout Greater Boston,” District Attorney Leone (File photo)
said. “These kinds of operations are at the root of many crimes
that corrupt the integrity of our communities and undermine public
safety, and we believe that these indictments should greatly deter those
illegal activities. Today’s actions are the result of an extensive
investigation by the Massachusetts State Police Special Services Section
and attorneys in our
PACT Unit, and I want to thank all of them
for their outstanding work. Our investigation continues into these
crimes and the scope of these organizations.”
The investigation, conducted by Massachusetts State Police Special
Services Division and attorneys from the Middlesex District Attorney’s
PACT Unit, uncovered activities associated
with two crime rings – one headed by Limone and the other headed by
Steven Contrada, 54, of Wilmington.
In the Limone organization, it is alleged that numerous “agents”
utilized the organization to make layoff bets for customers. The Limone
organization was highly structured.
At the top of the organization was Limone, who exercised control over
the organization’s agents, had others serve as a buffer between him and
the agents, made key decisions for the organization over how credit
would be extended and to whom, and directed how the members would
conduct business and how proceeds from its illegal activities would be
distributed. Limone rarely ever used the telephone, controlling the
operation through a series of subordinates who, when they spoke of him,
used nicknames including “the Camera Guy” and “Chief Crazy Horse.”
Squillante allegedly served as the intermediary between Limone and many
agents in the organization, conducting face-to-face meetings and
exchanging thousands of dollars in cash between Limone and others.
DiPrizio, whose principle place of business was run out of
Florida, allegedly served as the
“office manager” of the central “booking office.” Each day before the
sporting events began, the agents or their customers would call in their
bets to DiPrizio. DiPrizio was responsible for keeping the
organization’s written records of bets won and lost, and money owed by
various parties. Agents and customers used codenames, including
combinations of letters and numbers, in order to conceal their
identities. It is alleged that DiPrizio took hundreds of thousands of
dollars worth of bets on a wide range of sporting events, including
football, baseball, basketball and horseracing.
Palladino was the organization’s primary “runner” for Limone and
Squillante, handling its payments and collections of debts owed.
Palladino was observed and monitored on numerous occasions meeting with
various agents in public parking lots around
Middlesex
County, delivering or receiving tens
of thousands of dollars in illegal gaming monies, and discussing
outstanding “figures” or gambling debts.
The Limone organization is accused of generating proceeds through three
schemes – gambling revenue, loansharking, and extortion. The gambling
revenue was generated through agents making and collecting layoff bets,
with the Limone organization taking a percentage of the profits. A
second scheme was through “loansharking,” charging usurious (illegally
high) rates of interest on unpaid gaming debts owed to the organization.
This practice of charging exceedingly high interest made it nearly
impossible for many individuals in debt to the organization to pay their
way out of the debt.
Finally, it is also alleged that the Limone organization collected what
they termed “rent” (extortion) payments from at least four other
unaffiliated bookmakers operating in and around the Limone territory in
Greater Boston. These individuals were instructed that they would have
to make cash payments each and every month in exchange for being allowed
to conduct their own illegal gaming business without interference. The
bookmakers were made to understand that the demand for payment came from
members of organized crime. They were also made to understand that the
only alternative to paying the Limone organization would be to shut down
their gaming operations altogether. As a result, it is alleged that
each of the four bookmakers paid tens of thousands of dollars in
extortionate proceeds.
On March 28, State
Police executed a series of search warrants at locations used by the
Limone organization, including at 30 Almont
Street, Limone’s
Medford residence. Seized that day
was contraband and evidence of illegal activity. It is alleged that this
illegal activity by Limone and others continued following that
date despite the fact that they were on notice of the criminal
investigation.
The Contrada organization was much less
structured, with nearly all members, including Contrada, directly
serving customers as bookmaking agents in some capacity. The members of
the Contrada organization are charged with crimes associated with
illegal gaming, and not loansharking (usury) or extortion crimes.
A summary of the 140 indictments returned by a Middlesex Grand Jury
today are as follows:
“Limone Organization”
-
Peter Limone, 74, of Medford
Charges: Attempted Extortion (four counts), criminal usury,
organizing a gambling syndicate, keeping a gaming house, conspiracy
to commit extortion, conspiracy to commit criminal usury, conspiracy
to organize and promote gambling, conspiracy to keep a gaming house,
conspiracy to use a telephone for gaming (misdemeanor)
Anthony Squillante, 73, of Boston
Charges: Attempted Extortion (four counts), criminal usury,
organizing a gambling syndicate, conspiracy to commit extortion,
conspiracy to commit criminal usury, conspiracy to organize and
promote gambling, conspiracy to keep a gaming house, conspiracy to
use a telephone for gaming
-
Thomas Palladino, 75, of Malden
Charges: Attempted Extortion (four counts), criminal usury (two
counts), organizing a gambling syndicate, keeping a gaming house,
conspiracy to commit extortion, conspiracy to commit criminal usury
(two counts), conspiracy to organize and promote gambling,
conspiracy to keep a gaming house, using a telephone for gaming,
conspiracy to use a telephone for gaming
-
Joseph A. DiPrizio, Jr., 50, of Florida
Charges: Attempted Extortion (four counts), criminal usury,
organizing a gambling syndicate, conspiracy to commit extortion,
conspiracy to commit criminal usury, conspiracy to organize and
promote gambling, conspiracy to keep a gaming house, conspiracy to
use a telephone for gaming, using a telephone for gaming
-
Mario Marquardo, 59, of Salem
Charges: Organizing a gambling syndicate, criminal usury, conspiracy
to commit criminal usury, conspiracy to organize and promote
gambling, conspiracy to keep a gaming house, conspiracy to use a
telephone for gaming, using a telephone for gaming
-
Ralph Ventola, 42, of Boston
Charges: Organizing a gambling syndicate, conspiracy to organize and
promote gambling, conspiracy to keep a gaming house
-
John Zedros, 48, of Belmont
Charges: Organizing a gambling syndicate, keeping a gaming house,
conspiracy to organize and promote gambling, conspiracy to keep a
gaming house, using a telephone for gaming, conspiracy to use a
telephone for gaming, solicitation to commit a felony
-
Dominic Serino, 70, of Reading
Charges: Organizing a gambling syndicate, keeping a gaming house,
conspiracy to organize and promote gambling, conspiracy to keep a
gaming house, using a telephone for gaming, conspiracy to use a
telephone for gaming
-
Alfred Stankus, 61, of Brighton
Charges: Conspiracy to organize and promote gambling, conspiracy to
keep a gaming house, conspiracy to use a telephone for gaming, using
a telephone for gaming
“Contrada Organization”
-
Steven Contrada, 54, of Wilmington
Charges: Organizing a gambling syndicate, conspiracy to organize and
promote gambling, keeping a gaming house, conspiracy to keep a
gaming house, using a telephone for gaming, conspiracy to use a
telephone for gaming
-
John Miccichi, 55, of Malden
Charges: Organizing a gambling syndicate, conspiracy to organize and
promote gambling, keeping a gaming house, conspiracy to keep a
gaming house, possession of a firearm in commission of a felony,
possession of a firearm and ammunition (four counts), using a
telephone for gaming, conspiracy to use a telephone for gaming,
subsequent gaming offense
-
Raymond Suppa, 48, of Everett
Charges: Organizing a gambling syndicate, conspiracy to organize and
promote gambling, keeping a gaming house, conspiracy to keep a
gaming house, using a telephone for gaming, conspiracy to use a
telephone for gaming
-
Pasquale Cambria, 73, of Stoneham
Charges: Organizing a gambling syndicate, conspiracy to organize and
promote gambling, keeping a gaming house, conspiracy to keep a
gaming house, using a telephone for gaming, conspiracy to use a
telephone for gaming
-
Dominic Santoro, 63, of Marston Mills
Charges: Conspiracy to organize and promote gambling (two counts),
conspiracy to keep a gaming house (two counts), using a telephone
for gaming, conspiracy to use a telephone for gaming (two counts)
-
Joseph Cirame, 49, of Everett
Charges: Organizing a gambling syndicate, conspiracy to organize and
promote gambling, conspiracy to keep a gaming house, using a
telephone for gaming, conspiracy to use a telephone for gaming
-
Stephen Agrippino, 44, of Medford
Charges: Organizing a gambling syndicate, keeping a gaming house,
conspiracy to organize and promote gambling, conspiracy to keep a
gaming house, conspiracy to use a telephone for gaming, using a
telephone for gaming
-
Mark Evans, 48, of Medford
Charges: Organizing a gambling syndicate, conspiracy to organize and
promote gambling, conspiracy to keep a gaming house, using a
telephone for gaming, conspiracy to use a telephone for gaming
-
Paolo Tizzano, 39, of Boston
Charges: Conspiracy to organize and promote gambling, conspiracy to
keep a gaming house, using a telephone for gaming, conspiracy to use
a telephone for gaming
-
Robert F. Cash, 68, of Lynn
Charges: Conspiracy to organize and promote gambling, conspiracy to
keep a gaming house, using a telephone for gaming, conspiracy to use
a telephone for gaming
-
Frederick Sarno, 70, of Boston
Charges: Conspiracy to organize and promote gambling, conspiracy to
keep a gaming house, using a telephone for gaming, conspiracy to use
a telephone for gaming
These charges are allegations, and
the defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty.
The case is being investigated by
the Massachusetts State Police Special Services Section and attorneys in
the Middlesex District Attorney’s
PACT Unit. It is being prosecuted by
Assistant District Attorneys John Verner and David Solet of the
PACT Unit.
|
