http://www.masslive.com/news/index.ssf/2016/04/state_police_raid_two_springfi.htmlSPRINGFIELD - State police on Thursday morning raided two city bars linked to convicted racketeer Rex Cunningham, released from federal prison nearly five years ago after serving a 16-year sentence for loansharking and bookmaking.
Rex Cunningham
Rex Cunningham
Sources close to the investigation speaking on condition of anonymity said the search warrants were linked to suspected illegal gaming activity. Troopers also conducted searches at Cunningham's home and that of Brian Hoyle, 58, Cunningham's co-defendant in the 1990s. Hoyle spent 12 years behind bars and was released in 2009.
The raids unfolded over about two hours starting around 7 a.m. at the New O'Brien's Corner at 1082 Page Blvd. and The Blarney Stone at 885 Carew St.
When a reporter attempted to enter O'Brien's Corner around 9 a.m., a trooper politely responded:
"We're executing a search warrant ma'am. We'll be done in a while."
About a half dozen troopers poured out of the Blarney Stone around 9:30 a.m. and left in three unmarked vehicles.
Cunningham, 65, declined comment as he emerged from his home in the Georgetown condominium complex and rode away in a silver car with another man at the wheel. His attorney, Daniel D. Kelly of Springfield, said little about the raids.
"We're still gathering facts on our end as well," he said.
Kelly would not comment on the illegal gaming allegations. He said there were no arrests.
Reached for comment on Thursday afternoon, Hoyle groused that police had seized his car he said is a 2002 model worth $4,500.
"I don't know why they're picking on us out of the blue when there's so much going on in the city," Hoyle said, declining further comment.
Kelly said the bars were back open for business shortly after police left.
The investigation is being run jointly by the Hampden District Attorney and Massachusetts Attorney General's office, specifically the head of the latter's chief of the Gaming Enforcement Unit. The Massachusetts State Police Special Services Section, a Springfield-based organized crime unit, is the lead police agency.
Assistant Attorney General Patrick Hanley declined to comment on the investigation, as did several troopers involved in the raids.
James Leydon, a spokesman for Hampden District Attorney Anthony Gulluni, said the investigation is ongoing.
"This is an ongoing investigation being headed up by the Massachusetts State Police, Hampden District Attorney and the Massachusetts Attorney General's office. Information will be made available as the case progresses," Leydon wrote in response to a request for comment.
Cunningham long ran with mob higher-ups including the late Francesco "Skyball" Scibelli and the late Adolfo "Big Al" Bruno. Cunningham was sentenced in 1998 after pleading guilty to racketeering, collecting extortionate loans, operating a bookmaking operation and sharing illicit profits.
Springfield Mafia landscape barren after murder and criminal prosecutions
Springfield Mafia landscape barren after murder and criminal prosecutions
Former Springfield mob capo Anthony J. Arillotta led a violent coup that included taking out his predecessor, Adolfo "Big Al" Bruno, in 2003.
State police installed a microphone at Dillon's, a bar Cunningham once owned, in 1992. The listening device caught Cunningham crowing about how he had worked with the mob for two decades and never caught a criminal case. He also severely beat a debtor after ambushing the man outside his sister's funeral.
Cunningham admitted the beating in court.
"I lost my head," he told the late Judge Frank Freedman.
He also told Freedman that prosecutors exaggerated his violent treatment of those who owed him money.
"I'm not the terrible person they've presented. I'm not an angel, but I'm not that bad," Cunningham said at the time.
Cunningham's precise ties to the bars remains unclear. His name does not appear on any of the publicly available paperwork detailing ownership and management.
According to information provided by the city's License Commission, the manager of record for O'Brien's corner is Carol Bernazki and its owners are Holly E. Ferris and John R. Roncalli. Bernazki also is co-owner of the recently opened Mario's Cafe Ambiance in East Longmeadow.
Assessors records show the property is owned by O'Brien's Corner Inc. State records show Ferris and Roncalli are the officers of that entity.
The Blarney Stone's manager is listed with the city as Tony Coppola. Its owner is 991 Carew St. LLC. The sole officer for that entity also is Ferris.
Coincidentally, Holly Ferris is the wife of Thomas Ferris, who also was a co-defendant of Cunningham and Hoyle in the 1990s. A jury in 1998 found Ferris guilty of engaging Cunningham and Hoyle to collect $21,000 in debts from customers of Ferris' electrical contracting business.
