In November of 2006, eleven men were arrested for their supposed involvement with operating and/or working in an illegal gambling ring. The gambling ring was believed to have earned $200,000 a year in profits. Yesterday, two of the eleven men plead guilty to participating in an illegal gambling ring. The ring was being run out of the Bronx in a Hunts Point wholesale produce market.

The first to plead guilty was John Caggiano age 59. Caggiano stated that he “knowingly advanced and profited from unlawful gambling” and the authorities believe he is an associate in the Genovese crime family. Caggiano received a sentence of one and a half to four and a half years with a fine of $176,000, in exchange for his plea. The second man, Douglas Maleton age 60, plead guilty to attempted enterprise corruption for being a runner for the sports betting operation. Maleton will go to jail for one year and must pay $591.

Authorities has stated that Caggiano was running the daily operations of the sports betting group, most often from the produce market, named C&S Wholesale Produce Inc. Caggiano is also the owner and operator of the produce market. An investigation began in 2004 and by 2006 charges had been filed against the men. Of the eleven men charged, only one remains to plead his case. Robert Russo, who is believed to be the head of the operation, will go to trial next month.

Michael J. Mansfield, the chairman of Business Integrity Commission for the Bronx, stated: “Today’s pleas go a long way to ridding our public wholesale markets of organized crime.” Mansfield also commented that the pleas were only a small part of the battle against mob influence. “There are always going to be influences of organized crime in an organization that has the ability to generate $1.2 billion in sales,” he said.



- 2008-08-27