Reputed Members Of Gambino Crime Family Plead Guilty To Felony Enterprise Corruption Charges

NEW YORK, NY (March 25, 2010) - Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo today announced the guilty pleas of reputed members of the Gambino crime family on enterprise corruption, extortion, and bribery charges stemming from the operation of financially lucrative sports betting and loan sharking activities and a bid rigging scheme that were closely controlled by organized crime operating in Staten Island and elsewhere.

Gambino Captain Carmine Sciandra, 57, of Barclay Avenue in Staten Island, and his reputed right-hand soldier, Michael Murdocco, 65, of Willow Road East in Staten Island, as well as Benedetto (“Benny”) Casale, 68, of Hunt Lane in Staten Island, pleaded guilty before Richmond County Supreme Court Justice Leonard Rienzi. The defendants were indicted in November on charges stemming from a long-term joint investigation dubbed “Operation Pure Luck” that was conducted by the New York State Attorney General’s Organized Crime Task Force and the New York City Police Department's Vice Enforcement Bureau .

“These guilty pleas will help to terminate an intricate criminal network based in Staten Island,” said Attorney General Cuomo. “These convictions are the result of superb police work from various levels of law enforcement that are dedicated to ridding our communities of organized crime.”

The investigation utilized wiretaps coupled with traditional investigative techniques to gather evidence on the multi-county operations. According to the charges, the indicted members of the Gambino Crime Family lent money to their victims at interest rates averaging 156% per year, and ran an illegal sports gambling operation generating hundreds of thousands of dollars through an off-shore wireroom handling wagers on college and professional basketball, football, baseball and hockey games, as well as horse races. They collected from reluctant payers by using implicit threats of violence.

Sciandra pleaded guilty to Enterprise Corruption (class B felony), and Grand Larceny in the Fourth Degree (Larceny by Extortion - class E felony). As a condition of his plea, he will forfeit $1.2 million. He faces 1 ½ - 4 ½ years in prison when he is sentenced on June 22nd. In addition to his supervision over loan sharking and illegal gambling businesses, Sciandra owns the Staten Island-based Top Tomato chain of specialty grocery stores.

Murdocco pleaded guilty to Enterprise Corruption (class B felony), Grand Larceny in the Fourth Degree (Larceny by Extortion - class E felony), and Bribe Receiving in the Third Degree (class D felony). He faces 2 - 6 years in prison when he is sentenced on June 22nd.

Casale pleaded guilty to Attempted Enterprise Corruption (class C felony). As a condition of his plea, he will forfeit $250,000. In addition to his participation in the loansharking business, Casale owns the Staten Island-based Casale Tile store, which served as Murdocco’s and Casale’s headquarters in lending monies at exorbitant rates and collecting loan shark payments from their victims.

The Attorney General thanked the New York City Police Department’s Vice Enforcement Bureau and the OCTF investigators for their continued hard work and participation in the underlying investigation.