Reputed crime boss, four others tied to gambling ring face trials

Felony charges of racketeering against Thomas 'Sonny' Ciancutti were held for court Tuesday after two days of testimony that prosecutors said showed the reputed organized crime leader had day-to-day control over a lucrative western Pennsylvania gambling syndicate.

The government alleges that Ciancutti, 71, of New Kensington, allegedly has overseen a sports betting business and several locations with illegal video poker machines since 1995.

According to prosecutors, at the height of the football season, the operation generated $500,000 per week in Allegheny, Fayette and Westmoreland counties, with Ciancutti receiving a weekly take of about $50,000.

As arguments before District Justice Wendy Dennis of Farmington were concluding yesterday, Ciancutti disagreed when Deputy Attorney General Mark Serge alleged that the reputed mob leader directed the gambling ring from his lunchtime seat in the Ladbroke at the Meadows off-track betting parlor in Harmar Township.

'That's a lie,' Ciancutti said under his breath.

Over the years, Ciancutti has been connected to top western Pennsylvania mobsters such as the late Samuel and Gabriel 'Kelly' Mannarino and John 'Duffy' Conley. Conley is currently serving a 10-year prison sentence as mastermind of an illegal video poker machine empire.

During Monday's proceedings before Dennis, prosecutors presented eight tapes in which alleged underlings in Ciancutti's operation refer to consultations with or payments made to 'Brown,' 'Sonny' and 'Doctor.'

Prosecutors linked those nicknames to Ciancutti through testimony from an undercover state trooper who said he overheard Ciancutti being called by those names.

Ciancutti's lawyer, Irving M. Green of New Kensington, said that evidence did not sufficiently connect his client to the gambling operations.

'All we have is the testimony of a police officer that these nicknames refer to Ciancutti,' he said.

Ciancutti was held for court on two counts of racketeering, one count each of criminal conspiracy, bookmaking and dealing in proceeds of unlawful activities (also known as money laundering), and three counts of dealing with illegal gambling devices.

Charges against two of Ciancutti's alleged underlings and two other people supposedly involved in the gambling operation also were held for court yesterday.

Ralph 'Big Head' Maselli, 60, of the Overbrook section of Pittsburgh, and Jeffrey Risha, 46, of Uniontown, will face charges in Common Pleas Court.

Ciancutti, Maselli and Risha are the only three defendants among the 15 people whose arrests were announced in October by Pennsylvania Attorney General Mike Fisher to be charged with racketeering, a felony.

The tapes played Monday were primarily of Risha and Maselli balancing the weekly books and discussing what to pay 'Brown.'

Maselli was held for court on two counts each of racketeering and tax evasion, one count each of criminal conspiracy, insurance fraud and money laundering, and three counts each of bookmaking and dealing with illegal gambling devices.

Risha was held for court on a single count of criminal conspiracy, two counts of racketeering and three counts of bookmaking.

A single count of operating an illegal lottery against Risha was withdrawn.

Lawyers for Maselli and Risha argued that prosecutors had certainly proven a case for bookmaking - a misdemeanor - but had not shown that racketeering occurred.

'We concede that (Risha) is a bookmaker. But the evidence is clear that they have not offered any testimony as to the two counts of (racketeering),' said Uniontown attorney James T. Davis, who represents Risha.

Two others facing lesser charges also were held for court.

Joseph 'Jo Jo' Tobasco, 61, of Jefferson Hills, and Karen Maselli, 51, of Overbrook, both face criminal conspiracy and other charges.

Following separate hearings yesterday, Dennis held both cases for court.

Police contend that Tobasco maintained illegal gambling machines and took a cut of the profits.

In the case of Karen Maselli, Ralph Maselli's wife, prosecutors said she defrauded insurers and laundered money by participating in a company health plan through a Ciancutti company, S&S Vending of New Kensington.

All 14 people still charged have either had a preliminary hearing or have waived their charges to court.

The charges and any motions will now be heard in Fayette County Court.

Serge said more arrests are expected, but declined to elaborate.