W.Va. mobster's son charged in gambling ring

An investigation into a major Pittsburgh-based gambling ring has netted the son of a dead Wheeling, W.Va., mobster.

Federal prosecutors have charged Christopher Hankish, 44, of Scott, with gambling conspiracy in connection with a multimillion-dollar bookmaking ring headed by former video poker kingpin John "Duffy" Conley.

Hankish declined comment when reached at home Tuesday.

Investigators with the Pennsylvania State Police and the state Attorney General's Office began looking into gambling activity involving Conley, formerly of the South Side, in February 2005. Wiretaps on several of Conley's cell phones last fall revealed a widespread gambling ring.

"(Conley) spoke to every bookie we're aware of in Allegheny County," Paul Marraway, an agent with the Attorney General's Office, said during a February hearing in federal court, Downtown. "And many of these people are associated with organized crime."

Among them was Hankish, Marraway said.

His father, Paul "No Legs" Hankish, was a West Virginia mobster whose legs were blown off in a car-bomb assassination attempt. The elder Hankish was tied to the Pittsburgh mob and dominated gambling in Wheeling and Fayette County, according to the defunct Pennsylvania Crime Commission.

Paul Hankish died in federal prison in 1998 while serving 33 1/2 years for racketeering, gambling, cocaine distribution and income tax evasion.

Chris Hankish was a codefendant in a 1990 federal case against Charles "Chucky" Porter and Louis F. Raucci Sr. -- a trial that effectively ended organized crime in Pittsburgh. The younger Hankish pleaded guilty to cocaine conspiracy and distribution charges in 1991 and was sentenced to two years in federal prison.

The latest investigation revealed that Conley handled more than $3 million in bets over a 28-day period in November and December 2005, some involving Hankish, investigators said.

Hankish is the second person to be charged in the case since Conley returned to prison in May for violating parole conditions.

Michael "Mickey" Flynn Jr., 64, pleaded guilty Nov. 1 to gambling conspiracy charges in connection with Conley's operation. Owner of the Union Grill in Washington, Flynn was convicted on state gambling charges in 2004.

Conley has not been charged.