Shelton Man Involved in Illegal Sports Betting Ring Sentenced to Federal Prison
| U.S. Attorney’s Office July 31, 2013 |
Deirdre M. Daly, Acting United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that DOMENICO MANCHISI, also known as “Dom,” 65, of Shelton, was sentenced today by United States District Judge Vanessa L. Bryant in Hartford to six months of imprisonment, followed by one year of supervised release, for his involvement in an illegal sports bookmaking operation. MANCHISI also was ordered to pay a fine of $20,000 and to forfeit $20,000.
According to court documents and statements made in court, after a long-term investigation led by the FBI Fairfield County Organized Crime Task Force, the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation, and the Stamford Police Department, MANCHISI and 19 other individuals were charged with various offenses related to their involvement in an illegal Internet sports bookmaking operation and illegal card gambling clubs in Stamford and Hamden that were controlled by the Gambino Crime Family of La Cosa Nostra.
The investigation, which included the use of court-authorized wiretaps, revealed that MANCHISI was involved in a large-scale sports bookmaking operation in which gamblers placed bets with offshore Internet sports-gambling websites, particularly www.44wager.com based in Costa Rica. MANCHISI regularly collected the cash proceeds of a sports book operating in the New Haven area and transported the cash to individuals in Stamford.
FBI analysis of the sports-betting website utilized by the co-defendants has determined that the total gross revenues of the Stamford-based gambling operation were nearly $1.7 million from October 2010 to June 2011.
On March 28, 2013, MANCHISI pleaded guilty to one count of operating an illegal gambling business.
This matter is being investigated by the FBI Fairfield County Organized Crime Task Force, the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation, the Stamford Police Department, the Bridgeport Police Department, and the Connecticut State Police. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Hal Chen and Peter Jongbloed.