Washington, DC–(ENEWSPF)–July 11, 2013. Joseph Massimino was sentenced today to serve 188 months in prison for his participation in a racketeering conspiracy involving extortion, loan sharking and illegal gambling, announced Acting Assistant Attorney General Mythili Raman of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Zane David Memeger of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and Edward J. Hanko, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Philadelphia Division.
Massimino, 63, of Philadelphia, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Eduardo C. Robreno in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. In addition to his prison term, Massimino was sentenced to serve three years of supervised release.
On Feb. 5, 2013, after a four-month trial, a jury convicted Massimino of conspiring to conduct and participate in the affairs of the Philadelphia La Cosa Nostra Family through a pattern of racketeering activity. The evidence at trial proved that, in furtherance of the racketeering conspiracy, Massimino, as a “made” member and underboss, extorted “street tax” payments from a bookmaker, used threats of violence against debtors to collect loan sharking payments and forced the owners of a vending company to sell the portion of their business related to the operation of illegal video poker machines. In addition, Massimino ran an illegal electronic gambling device business for the mob, providing video poker machines and other gambling devices for bars, restaurants, convenience stores, coffee shops and other locations in Philadelphia and its suburbs. In one of these locations, Massimino also operated an illegal sports bookmaking business.
The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney John S. Han of the Criminal Division’s Organized Crime and Gang Section and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Frank A. Labor III and Suzanne B. Ercole of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Valuable prosecutorial assistance was provided by the Pennsylvania Office of the Attorney General.
The case is being investigated by the FBI, Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation, Pennsylvania State Police, New Jersey State Police, Philadelphia Police Department, U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Inspector General Office of Labor Racketeering and Fraud Investigations, and the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration. Additional assistance was provided by the New Jersey Department of Corrections.
Source: justice.gov
