Jul 30 2007
Mafia snitch gets snitched out on his own gambling racket
JERSEY CITY, N.J. - They call him “Petey Cap.” But now some are calling Peter Caporino “Greedy Petey” for keeping up his numbers racket, even after he informed on more than a dozen Genovese crime family members.
The 70-year-old Hasbrouck Heights man’s skill in keeping out of prison ended in a Jersey City court last week, when he pleaded guilty to running an illegal gambling ring as part of a plea deal that includes a seven-year prison term, much of which will likely be spent in isolation.
Prosecutors will also drop their charges against Caporino’s wife.
The owner of a Hoboken members-only social hall called the Character Club, Caporino was never a ranking Genovese member, according to authorities.
But police, criminals and politicians alike remember him as a fixture in the area’s crime scene: a slight, chatty, white-haired guy who was more of a numbers runner than someone who roughed people up.
To keep himself and his wife out of prison, he secretly recorded hundreds of conversations that helped federal prosecutors win convictions against 16 New Jersey-based Genovese members and associates.
Caporino never entered witness protection. And, it turned out, he never gave up breaking the law.
“It’s all he knows,” his defense attorney, Sam DeLuca, told The Sunday Star-Ledger of Newark.
Caporino’s work with federal authorities became public record when he was forced to testify in the May 2006 trial of reputed Genovese crime family soldier Michael Crincoli, who was convicted of racketeering and loan sharking.
On the stand, Caporino admitted he had aided the FBI for more than 15 years, and had provided information that helped with the prosecution of Louis “Bobby” Manna, reportedly the Genovese underboss in charge of New Jersey.
Caporino also said that agents had ordered him repeatedly to shut down his gambling operations. In court last Thursday, Caporino said he was back running numbers starting in June 2006, raising the possibility that he never really stopped.
“It certainly looked that way,” said Assistant Hudson County Prosecutor Thomas Carroll.
Law enforcement started to zero in on Caporino’s racket after anonymous letters pinpointing the locations of his operations were sent to Jersey City police and even The Star-Ledger of Newark.
Police raided Caporino’s home last month, seizing betting records and cash.
Theories abound over who might have ratted out Caporino: possibly Genovese family members wanting revenge, other gambling racket runners interested in his turf, or even local law enforcement upset that Caporino was able to stay out of prison for so long.
According to Assistant U.S. Attorney V. Grady O’Malley, organized crime members “like to see a guy suffer.”
“He’s going to suffer with this,” O’Malley said of Caporino. “You’re talking about spending the remaining good years of his life in jail.”
As for the feds helping out the guy who helped them out?
“We’re not going to step in and rescue him,” O’Malley said. “He takes the entire weight _ and he deserves it.”
Mafia snitch gets snitched out on his own gambling racket - 1:56 PM EDT, July 30, 2007 - Information from: The Star-Ledger, http://www.nj.com - Copyright © 2007, The Associated Press - http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wire/newjersey/ny-bc-nj–snitchoutsnitched0730jul30,0,2513466,print.story?coll=ny-region-apnewjersey
