http://gangsterreport.com/catching-up-w-...tion-from-cops/


In some more magnificent reporting by Masslive.com’s Stephanie Barry, we’ve learned that notorious Springfield, Massachusetts mob associate Rex Cunningham is connected to a pair of local taverns recently raided by state authorities (read Barry’s story here). Massachusetts State Police executed search warrants at both O’Brien’s Corner and the Blarney Stone in April, drinking establishments in which the 65-year old Cunningham is alleged to hold some form of interests in. Cunningham is a rather legendary enforcer, bookie and loan shark in Springfield history.



The mafia in Springfield has long been an outpost of New York’s Genovese crime family. A convicted felon and racketeer who served almost 15 years in prison for bookmaking and extortion, – he once stalked a debtor to his sister’s wake and broke his arm -, Cunningham’s career in the underworld dates back to the Springfield mob’s Scibelli era when the region was a tightly-run ship overseen by Francesco (Frankie Sky Ball) Scibelli’s and his two brothers “Baba” and “Turk” and ace protégé Adolfo (Big Al) Bruno.

Cunningham came up under Springfield mafia elder statesman Mario Fiore and came to be known as one of Western Massachusetts’s most feared collectors. He headquartered his affairs out of Dillon’s Tavern until his jailing in the spring of 1995. The FBI bugged his office at Dillon’s Tavern and his cellular phone.

When a debtor’s sister passed away in the early 1990s, Cunningham saw it as a perfect opportunity to attack the man (Ron Goulet) who had borrowed $15,000 and was dodging paying him back. Government tapes were rolling as he recounted the incident to a lieutenant of his in the summer of 1992.

“Oh yeah, well I got him, his sister died. So I got him, we sat outside the wake. I went myself because, I prefer that. I sat outside the wake. I followed him, a perfect tail. Followed him and as he got out of the car. I grabbed him and threw him outta of the fucking car. Took him behind the Gaslight (Lounge). Had three guys waiting there, beat him with fucking pipes, tire irons. I dropped his car keys on his chest. I told him we just beat your ass. And I said I’ll call an ambulance for you. We left him bleeding all over the place…..When he got out of the car at first, I said to him the bad news is, I said, is there’s no meeting like I told you. And I said nobody’s here but me and I’m gonna beat your ass. Then I smashed him in the face and he went down and them three guys come out from behind a dumpster. And I backed off and I said, ‘one guy at a time and don’t hit him in the head’. He went down pretty quick and he didn’t wake up til the next week”

In an interview with Barry in 2011, a little less than a year after he was released from prison, Cunningham discussed the good ole days.

“We had a tough group of guys…..if you did something wrong you took a beating,” he said. “There’s still money on the street. Everyone is still taking bets, but it’s a free for all….its’ a viper’s nest of snakes and rats.”

Scibelli died in 2000. Bruno was slain in 2003, shot dead as he departed his Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Social Club located in Springfield’s mobbed-up South End. Big Al’s headline-grabbing murder was plotted by Anthony (Bingy) Arillotta a one-time protégé of his intent on replacing him as the Genovese clan’s capo in Springfield.

Bingy Arillotta became a witness for the government. So did Bruno’s assassin, Arillotta’s wildcard strong arm, Frankie Roche. A former Arillotta loan shark named Albert Calvanese is alleged to be the current Springfield crew boss.

Arillotta’s former mob superior, imprisoned Genovese street boss Arthur (Little Artie) Nigro, was convicted of ordering the Bruno hit and is in the process of appealing his case. Appeal briefs filed last year show that Rex Cunningham’s cousin and one-time partner in a sports gambling business, Springfield strip club baron Jimmy Santaniello was being extorted by the area mafia and had been an FBI informant, even delivering the government intelligence on Cunningham’s criminal activities beginning in 1992. Santaniello’s uncle is Mario Fiore, Cunningham’s gangland mentor.

http://www.masslive.com/news/index.ssf/2016/04/state_police_raid_two_springfi.html

SPRINGFIELD - 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.