United States Attorney's Office District of Connecticut
Press Release

EAST HAVEN MAN PLEADS GUILTY IN FEDERAL COURT TO BOOKMAKING AND OBSTRUCTING JUSTICE

Kevin J. O'Connor, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that MICHAEL JOSEPH LAMBERTI, SR. pleaded guilty today in federal court to sports bookmaking and obstruction of justice charges relating to a joint federal, state, and local prosecution of illegal gambling businesses in Connecticut. LAMBERTI, age 43 of 297 North High Street, East Haven, Connecticut, appeared before United States Magistrate Judge Holly B. Fitzsimmons in Bridgeport and admitted his guilt.

U.S. Attorney O'Connor explained that LAMBERTI pleaded guilty to conspiring to conduct an illegal sports bookmaking business and obstructing a grand jury's investigation. During today's and earlier court proceedings, a federal prosecutor told the Court that the federal investigators working with state and local law enforcement conducted court-authorized electronic surveillance from late 1999 and early 2000 as part of an organized crime investigation. During this period, the FBI intercepted conversations that a New Haven based sports bookmaking business accepted more than $2,000,000 in illegal wagers on sporting events like football, baseball, and basketball. The investigation determined that the sports bookmaking business operated year-round from at least 1996 to March 2000, accepting wagers on other sporting events and accepting layoff wagers from other bookmakers. The gambling businesses violated various state laws prohibiting gambling. LAMBERTI's bookmaking office received betting line information and laid off wagers to a large-scale bookmaking office.

LAMBERTI told the Court that he had agreed with others to conduct a sports bookmaking business. Biagio Martinelli and Benedetto Minichino, who worked in LAMBERTI's bookmaking office, recently pleaded guilty in federal court.

The prosecutor also told the Court that LAMBERTI conspired with others to obstruct a grand jury's investigation of organized criminal activity in the New Haven area. LAMBERTI and others created fake catering invoices for work LAMBERTI purportedly performed for a New Haven restaurant, which were later submitted to a federal grand jury in January 2000. LAMBERTI tried to mislead the grand jury into believing that he worked for the New Haven restaurant when in fact he had a no-show job at the restaurant and performed no work for the restaurant.

"This guilty plea and the previous guilty pleas in this case are a result of the excellent cooperation between all levels of law enforcement," U. S. Attorney O'Connor stated. "This Office and our law enforcement partners are committed to disrupting illegal gambling rings and all forms of organized criminal activity, wherever they exist, as well as prosecuting those who seek to obstruct and impede the grand jury's efforts to investigate criminal activity."

LAMBERTI faces a maximum penalty of 15 years' imprisonment, a $500,000 fine, and a three-year period of court-supervised release when he is sentenced by Senior United States District Judge Alan H. Nevas on June 17, 2004. LAMBERTI was released on bail pending sentencing.

In addition to this conviction, the following people have been convicted of federal offenses as part of the investigation – Alphonse Amendola, Carl Apuzzo, Charles Cerreta, Thomas Coppola, James Cretella, Steven Datillo, Kevin Dolan, Ralph Iannuzzi, Angelo Lucifora, Biagio Martinelli, Benedetto Minichino, Anthony M. Natalizio, Anthony Notarino, Nicholas B. Onofrio Jr., John Joseph Vitello, and John Zullo.

United States Attorney O'Connor explained that the guilty pleas are the result of a joint investigation conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation, Statewide Organized Crime Investigation Task Force of the Connecticut State Police, and New Haven Police Department. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Peter S. Jongbloed.

CONTACT:

U.S. ATTORNEY'S OFFICE
Tom Carson
(203) 821-3722
thomas.carson@usdoj.gov