Gambino Capo Sentenced For Running Sports Gaming Ring

Nicholas Corozzo A reputed captain in the Gambino organized crime family has been sentenced to serve up to 13 1/2 years behind bars after pleading guilty to operating an elaborate Internet sports wagering ring based in Woodhaven and Costa Rica, it was announced.

Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown said that 69-year-old Nicholas "Little Nicky" Corozzo of Legion Street in Bellmore, L.I. was sentenced on Tuesday, Apr. 28 by Queens Supreme Court Judge Barry Kron to serve between 4 1/2 and 13 1/2 years in prison in connection with a 29-count indictment in which he and 25 other alleged mobsters operating the illegal gaming business.

"As a result of this prosecution, we have closed down an extremely lucrative gaming operation that benefitted the Gambino crime family to the tune of millions of dollars each year," District Attorney Brown stated, noting that the profits of the venture helped fund "other more insidious forms of criminal activity" including racketeering, drug trafficking, auto theft, insurance fraud and loan sharking.

"[The] sentence sends a clear signal to all who involve themselves in illegal gambling that law enforcement will keep up the pressure and not allow them to operate," Brown added.

According to the charges, Corozzo and other reputed members of the crime family promoted illegal sports betting around Queens and elsewhere, using wire rooms based in a Woodhaven apartment building and a location in Costa Rica while accepting wagers on a variety of professional and collegiate sporting events.

Corozzo was initially indicted along with 26 other defendants in February 2008 in connection with the sports gaming ring, including his brother Blaise and other members of the Gambino family, including Louis Scida, Todd Segarra, Neil Allstatt and Frank Mancini. Each of these five defendants have previously pleaded guilty to charges of enterprise corruption and are serving time in prison.

The remaining defendants in the case have pleaded guilty to various crimes.

Corozzo had been a fugitive from justice fro approximately four months before surrendering to federal authorities on May 29, 2008, after his story was featured earlier on the television show America's Most Wanted. He had been named in a federal indictment along with 61 other alleged Gambino members and associates for racketeering, conspiracy, extortion, loan sharking and embezzlement.

Corozzo pleaded guilty to the federal indictment and was sentenced to 13 1/2 years in prison. The sentence imposed in Queens Criminal Court on Tuesday will run concurrently with the sentence imposed under the federal charges.

The Queens case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney benjamin J. Mantell of the D.A.'s Organized Crime and Rackets Bureau under the supervision of Assistant District Attorneys Gerard A. Brave, bureau chief, and Mark L. Katz, deputy bureau chief, and the overall supervision of Executive Assistant District Attorney for Investigations Peter A. Crusco and Deputy Executive Assistant District Attorney for Investigations Linda M. Cantoni.