BROOKLYN, NY – As of November 7, 2024, five individuals from Long Island, including Anthony Frascone, a member of the Bonanno crime family, were indicted for their involvement in an illegal gambling operation. Following a 14-month investigation, authorities allege that the group managed an online sports betting enterprise based in Nassau County.
In April 2024, Salvatore Rubino, known as “Sal the Shoemaker,” pleaded guilty to running an illegal gambling operation linked to the Genovese crime family. Rubino admitted to organizing card games and managing gambling machines within his former shoe repair shop in Brooklyn, funneling profits to the crime family. His guilty plea was part of a wider investigation targeting Mafia gambling activities across New York.
Earlier that month, four other individuals tied to the Genovese crime family also pleaded guilty to racketeering and related charges. These admissions were linked to long-standing illegal gambling operations in Brooklyn and Long Island, which involved betting parlors and other covert gambling activities.
The investigation also revealed connections to a larger case from August 2022, when Nassau County Police Detective Hector Rosario and eight others were charged with racketeering and illegal gambling offenses. Rosario, a now-fired Nassau County detective, allegedly accepted payments from the Bonanno crime family to disrupt rival gambling operations, including those associated with the Genovese family.
Prosecutors detailed that Rosario orchestrated staged raids to target competing gambling sites at the behest of the Bonanno family. He also provided information to his police colleagues to disrupt rival operations. In addition, Rosario reportedly used law enforcement resources to support his Bonanno contacts, including checking databases for potential informants and discussing plans for a fake raid on a drug dealer. He faces trial for obstruction of justice and lying to federal authorities.
Despite being heavily investigated and prosecuted in the 1990s, these cases highlight that Mafia crime families, such as the Bonanno and Genovese, continue to operate in New York. Their activities have adapted over the decades, maintaining influence through illegal enterprises like gambling, even as law enforcement persists in efforts to dismantle their networks.
