ALLEGED GAMBINO UNDERBOSS SENTENCED TO MORE THAN 7 YEARS ON FEDERAL RACKETEERING CONVICTION

        Kevin J. O'Connor, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, today announced that ANTHONY MEGALE, also known as "The Genius," age 52, of Stamford, Connecticut, was sentenced today by United States District Judge Janet Bond Arterton in New Haven to 86 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release.  Judge Arterton also ordered MEGALE to pay a fine in the amount of $100,000.  On October 4, 2005 , MEGALE pleaded guilty to one count of Racketeering Conspiracy.

        When he pleaded guilty, MEGALE admitted that, between November 2002 and September 2004, he conspired with other members of a criminal enterprise to collect monthly extortion payments from Fairfield County businessmen and to operate several illegal gambling operations in Fairfield County .

        The Government has charged that the criminal enterprise was headed by members of the Gambino crime family and, in 2002, MEGALE stated that he had been made the acting underboss in the organization.

        According to documents filed with the court and statements made by the Government in court, MEGALE extorted payments of $2,000 a month from one businessman and payments of $200 a month from another businessman.  In slightly less than two years, MEGALE collected approximately $60,000 in "protection" payments from the two unidentified businessmen.  MEGALE also shared in the proceeds of various illegal gambling ventures, including an illegal video poker machine operation, bookmaking and street numbers businesses, all of which were run by other individuals.

        "We are pleased with this strict sentence, which should further help to dispel the sometimes romanticized notion of organized crime." U.S. Attorney O'Connor stated.  "Business owners in this country should be free to operate without the fear of violent retribution if they fail to pay up."

        MEGALE is one of 17 individuals charged as a result of this investigation.  All have been convicted, and MEGALE is the last to be sentenced.

        "I want to commend all of the members of law enforcement who helped to bring Mr. Megale and his associates to justice," U.S. Attorney O'Connor added.

        This matter is the result of a United States Attorney's Organized Crime Strike Force investigation.  The investigation was led by the Federal Bureau of Investigation with the assistance of the Stamford Police Department, the Norwalk Police Department and the Connecticut State Police.  This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Michael J. Gustafson, Raymond F. Miller and Karen L. Peck.