STAMFORD -- Stamford resident and reputed mob underboss Anthony "The Genius"
Megale was indicted yesterday in New York as part of another Mafia sting.
Megale, 51, of 105 Northwind Drive, is being held without bail while awaiting a
May trial in federal court in New Haven on racketeering and extortion charges.
Yesterday, Megale was one of 32 defendants charged with wide-ranging
racketeering crimes and other offenses, spanning more than a decade and
including violent assault, extortion, loansharking, union embezzlement, illegal
gambling, trafficking in stolen property and counterfeit goods, and mail fraud.
While most of Megale's alleged crimes occurred out of state, he is accused of
extorting money from the owner of a Greenwich restaurant and receiving a stolen
flat-screen television at his home.
Megale's lead attorney, Stephan Seeger, said it's premature to comment on the
indictment.
"We have not seen any of the evidence and the indictment appears to be vague
about many things," he said.
Seeger and his co-counsel, Lindy Urso, said they were reviewing the 118-page
document yesterday.
"What's important is that these are just accusations and Mr. Megale is presumed
innocent," Urso said.
Authorities held a press conference yesterday in Manhattan announcing the
unsealing of the 53-count indictment. The government is alleging the defendants'
criminal activities netted at least $30 million in illegal proceeds and will
seek forfeiture of that amount from them.
If the money cannot be obtained, the government plans to go after the homes of
several mobsters, including Megale's home, worth more than $700,000.
The alleged racket was exposed by an undercover FBI agent posing as a "wiseguy,"
who infiltrated the Gambino organized crime family for two years with an act so
convincing he was considered for membership.
"Had we left him out on the street much longer, the Gambino family ranks would
have actually increased by one," said Pasquale D'Amuro, assistant director of
the FBI's New York office, according to The Associated Press.
The unidentified agent "risked his life as a mole for the better part of two
years" after he was put on record as a family associate, U.S. Attorney David
Kelley said.
D'Amuro credited the undercover agent with making hundreds of secret recordings,
revealing the family's inner workings. It was a feat not seen since FBI agent
Joe Pistone's work in the Bonanno family 25 years ago under the alias Donnie
Brasco, he said.
Among those named in the indictment were Arnold "Zeke" Squitieri, of Englewood
Cliffs, N.J., who allegedly took over as acting Gambino boss when Peter Gotti
was incarcerated in 2002. The indictment says that, at the same time, Megale
assumed the position of acting underboss.
In many respects, Megale operated as what is sometimes referred to as a "street
boss" for Squitieri because of Squitieri's concerns about meeting with other La
Cosa Nostra members and associates while on parole for a prior narcotics
conviction, the indictment states.
The indictment alleges that Squitieri, Megale and other defendants made millions
of dollars through numerous crimes, including the extortion of businesses. The
document says an unnamed radio station in New York was forced to run
advertisements and promotions for Gambino-controlled businesses.
Some of the crimes -- including the shakedown of the radio station -- were
plotted at a nursing home in New Rochelle, N.Y., by the bedside of the comatose
son of a mobster.
The indictment says that the Gambino family also infiltrated, controlled and
extorted money from construction companies, trucking companies and nightclubs.
The indictment charges that the Gambino family operated a lucrative illegal
gambling operation throughout the 1990s until recently that netted about $20
million in proceeds.
Authorities say that two of the defendants attacked a third mobster last month
in the housewares department at Bloomingdale's in White Plains, N.Y. The victim
was severely beaten with a candlestick.
Authorities said the vicious assault took place so the mobsters could "maintain
and increase their respective positions within the Gambino crime family."
The charges in the indictment are the result of a three-year investigation by
the U.S. Attorney's Office, the FBI and the Department of Labor.
The probe included obtaining court authorization to intercept conversations
among the various defendants at several locations in Westchester County, N.Y.,
including the nursing home.
In the grand jury indictment, Megale is charged with extortion, illegal
gambling, racketeering, transportation and receipt of stolen property, and
conspiracy.
Seeger said he spoke to Megale yesterday and he is aware of the charges against
him. Authorities say Megale may be arraigned in a Manhattan court tomorrow, but
that is tentative.
Megale has been incarcerated since his Sept. 29 arrest in an FBI sweep that
nabbed more than a dozen suspects. Among other things, he is accused of
extorting money from Harry Farrington, owner of Stamford strip clubs Beamers and
Harry O's.
Megale pleaded not guilty to 44 counts in an indictment charging him with
racketing, extortion and helping run an illegal gambling business.
Megale's defense team had proposed that their client be released on $2.5 million
bond secured by family members' properties and placed under house arrest, but a
judge denied the request.
In her ruling, the judge questioned Megale's family's assets and voiced concern
for the well-being of Farrington.
-- The Associated Press contributed to this story.
