Poker Writer
An organized crime mobster allegedly used stolen identities to win more than $1.2 million at a Bally’s Casino resort in Rhode Island. Giuseppe Manzi, known as “Little Joe” in his local crime circle, nearly doubled his roughly $600,000 by putting it into slot machines, taking advantage of comps assigned to other players.
During the last twelve (12) months, Manzi has placed approximately $630,000.00 of United States Currency into the slot machines. In the casino world, this is referred to his ‘coin in.’ During the 116 days of slot machine play, Manzi has won $1,156,105.00
The East Longmeadow, Massachusetts native was the leader of the operation, which saw him and his cohorts use fraudulent points cards under various identities that did not match his or any of the others’ IDs. As many as 106 different points cards were used.
Ultimately, the amount of winnings became suspicious and was flagged by a casino employee.
Manzi has been involved in larger mob sweeps in the past. His father, Carmine Manzi, was sentenced to 3 1/2 years in prison for running a gambling and loansharking ring out of a family barbershop. The younger Manzi has loansharking and racketeering convictions.
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Five Involved in Casino Cheating Scheme
Five individuals were also put on trial as part of the scheme. In addition to Manzi:
- Antonio Capua, 47
- Claudio Cardaropoli, 47
- Alfonso Lalli, 51
- Salvatore Fusco, 23
Four of them were locked up, while Manzi was the only one who met initial bail, set at $50,000. A judge eventually freed Lalli and Fusco for the moment, as well. Another alleged co-conspirator, Franco Fusco, remains on the lam.
A lawyer for one of the defendants claimed the crew simply outsmarted the casino.
“What they’re accused of here is basically out-mathing the casino,” he said. “They played within the parameters of the program.”
Each of the older codefendants has a history of brushes with the law. The 23-year-old Salvatore Fusco has family ties, as his father, Emilio Fusco, is serving 25 years in federal prison for racketeering. The lawyer for the younger Fusco argued that his client is being unfairly grouped into the charges that are related to the older men.
I guess, unless you take their free drinks and lose, you’ve committed a crime.
Image credit: Morrow Long/Wikimedia Commons (license)
