United States Attorney's Office District of Connecticut
Press Release

TWO MEN PLEAD GUILTY TO CONDUCTING ILLEGAL GAMBLING BUSINESSES

Kevin J. O'Connor, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, today announced that ANDREW COLAVOLPE, JR., age 78, of 137 Chapel Street, New Haven, Connecticut, and DOMINIC VINCENT GENTILE, age 45, of 607 Hollywood Avenue, Bronx, New York, have each pleaded guilty to conspiring to conduct an illegal gambling business. The charges stem from a joint federal, state, and local investigation of organized crime's control of illegal gambling businesses in Connecticut. COLAVOLPE pleaded guilty yesterday, September 28, and GENTILE pleaded guilty today, in Bridgeport federal court.

The prosecutor explained to the Court that the New England Family of La Cosa Nostra operated multiple illegal gambling businesses in Connecticut, including sports bookmaking, illegal numbers, and football betting slips. Federal investigators working with state and local law enforcement conducted court-authorized electronic surveillance from late 1999 to early 2000 as part of an investigation of members and associates of the New England Family, which is also called the Patriarca Family. The FBI intercepted conversations of Anthony J. Ascenzia Jr., a New England Family member, and others as they ran the illegal gambling businesses. The evidence showed that, during a four-month period, the New Haven based sports bookmaking business alone accepted more than $2,300,000 in illegal wagers on sporting events like football, baseball, and basketball. Investigators determined that the sports bookmaking business operated year-round from at least 1997 to March 2000, accepting wagers on other sporting events and accepting layoff wagers from other bookmakers. The football slips business operated in 1997 through 2000. The gambling businesses violated various state laws prohibiting gambling.

The prosecutor told the Court that from September to December 1999, GENTILE traveled from New York each week, delivering between 24,500 and 25,000 football betting slips to Ascenzia. The betting slips are preprinted forms used to bet on college and professional games. The two met at a rest area along Interstate I-95 in Greenwich where Gentile would hand over boxes of slips. The Court was also told that COLAVOLPE assisted Ascenzia's football betting slips business from 1997 to 2000 by delivering packages for Ascenzia.

COLAVOLPE and GENTILE each face a maximum penalty of five years of imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, and a three-year period of court-supervised release. Senior United States District Judge Alan H. Nevas will sentence COLAVOLPE and GENTILE on December 16, 2004. The defendants were released on bail pending sentencing.

In addition to these two convictions, the following 19 people have been convicted of federal offenses as part of the investigation: Anthony J. Ascenzia Jr., Alphonse Amendola, Carl Apuzzo, Charles Cerreta, Thomas Coppola, James Cretella, Steven Datillo, Kevin Dolan, Mariano Grasso, Ralph Iannuzzi, Michael Lamberti Sr., Angelo Lucifora, Biagio Martinelli, Benedetto Minichino, Anthony M. Natalizio, Anthony Notarino, Nicholas B. Onofrio Jr., John Joseph Vitello, and John Zullo.

U.S. Attorney O'Connor commended the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation, the Statewide Organized Crime Investigation Task Force of the Connecticut State Police, and the New Haven Police Department for their significant work on this investigation. "The success of this investigation of the New England LCN Family once again exemplifies the benefits achieved from a coordinated law enforcement effort," U.S. Attorney O'Connor stated.
U.S. Attorney O'Connor added that the prosecution is continuing.

This 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