PIZZA BOY here is something on Joe Sass:
Firefighter, three geriatric gangsters accused of running gambling ring for Genovese crime family
'They’ve been using the same simple formula since 1975'
A New York City firefighter and three geriatric gangsters were busted in the Bronx Thursday for allegedly running a $2 million-a-year gambling and loansharking ring for the Genovese crime family.
Mob associate Joseph (Joe Sass) Sarcinella, 77, who prosecutors say ran the sports book, has been busted twice before — once in the mid-1970s for running a $50 million operation for Vincent (The Chin) Gigante.
“They’ve been using the same simple formula since 1975,” said one source involved in the Bronx probe.
In 2001, the wiseguy was nailed again for running a $10 million gambling ring in Bronxdale. He pleaded guilty the next year, and served four months — one weekend at a time.
In the 73-page indictment, the Bronx district attorney charged that the eight-man crew — three older than 75 — levied exorbitant interest, sometimes 100% of the bet. The old men sometimes met at Veniero’s on E. 11th St.
"They would summon their loan shark victims to come and settle up," at the pastry shop,”where they nibbled pastry and talked business police said.
Bruno (Cola) Totino, 81, Dominick (Pepe) Pietranico, 81, John D’Abrosio, 54, Frank Mastracchio, 56, Dominick (Whitey) Totino, 44, and Thomas McMahon, 29, were all charged with loansharking and promoting gambling and racketeering - a felony carrying a maximum 25 prison stretch.
McMahon, 29, a seven-year vet of the FDNY assigned to Ladder 38 in Belmont, acted as a runner, collecting bets on the streets and paying out winnings, according to the indictment. He was suspended for 30 days, the Fire Department said.
Prosecutors caught the gangsters on wire tapes shaking down sports gamblers for big money.
“They specialized in football but they took bets on everything,” the source said. “These guys have been doing this for a hundred years. “These are old hands for the family. They’re old pros.”
The operation ran between 2009 and 2011, taking the action through a social club and two offices in Pelham Gardens and Fordham Heights.
McMahon’s uncle, Mastracchio, 56, was also busted for criminal possession of a weapon after cops found a sawed-off shotgun and a pistol in his Bronx home.
McMahon could not be reached for comment..
Murray Richman, the lawyer for all the men except the firefighter, declined to comment.
In the social club on 1480 Mace Ave. Thursday night where bets were allegedly collected, five guys were screaming at each other over the bust.
One man was slammed his hand against the wall and screamed at another “You know how much f--king money that is!”
“You should have f--king known!” a second guy screamed.
But they calmed down when approached by a News reporter.
“Talk to the lawyer,” one of the men said. “There wasn't anything illegal happening here.”
Another man headed to the nearby bodega where he purchased 15 scratch tickets.
