A Nassau County police detective was among nine people in New York and Florida who were indicted on Tuesday in Brooklyn federal court on racketeering and other illegal gambling charges, including members of the Genovese and Bonanno organized crime families. The 9 were from Long Island. Eight of the suspects were arrested Tuesday morning. Seven were scheduled to appear in court Tuesday.
The two families ran illegal gambling hubs at La Nazionale Soccer Club Glendale, the Glendale Sports Club, the Gran Caffé in Lynbrook, the Soccer Club in Valley Stream, Sal’s Shoe Repair in Merrick and Centro Calcio Italian Club in West Babylon, federal prosecutors said.
Those charged on Long Island included: Joseph “Joe Fish” Macario, 68, of West Islip; Salvatore “Sal the Shoemaker” Rubino, 58, of Bethpage; Joseph “Joe Box” Rutigliano, 63, of Commack; Mark Feuer, 59, of Oceanside; Anthony “Little Anthony” Pipitone, 49, of Deer Park; and Hector Rosario, 49, of Mineola. Rosario is a detective in the Nassau County Police Department.
Those charged from Queens included Carmelo “Carmine Polito” Polito, 68, of Whitestone and Agostino Gabriele, 35, of Glendale. Vito Pipitone, 40, is a Florida resident.
The charges against the men include racketeering, illegal gambling, money laundering, conspiracy, obstruction of justice, false statements and state and federal-level extortion, prosecutors said in a news release.
“The defendants tried to hide their criminal activity by operating from behind the cover of a coffee bar, a soccer club and a shoe repair shop, but our Office and our law enforcement partners exposed their illegal operations,” Peace said. “Even more disturbing is the shameful conduct of a detective who betrayed his oath of office and the honest men and women of the Nassau County Police Department when he allegedly aligned himself with criminals.”
Detective Rosario worked with the crime family, according to a joint criminal investigation between the FBI and the Nassau County Police Department’s DA Squad. He took money from the Bonanno crime family in exchange for offering to arrange police raids of competing gambling locations, prosecutors said, and is now charged with obstructing a grand jury investigation and lying to the FBI.
“Today’s arrests of members from two La Cosa Nostra crime families demonstrate that the Mafia continues to pollute our communities with illegal gambling, extortion, and violence while using our financial system in service to their criminal schemes,” U.S. Attorney Breon Peace said in a statement.
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