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By MARK MORRIS
The Kansas City Star
A Harrisonville man once believed to be an underboss in Kansas City's organized crime family pleaded guilty in federal court today to operating an illegal sports gambling business.
William D. Cammisano Jr., 60, admitted that from March 1, 2006, to March 31, 2009, he collected about $1.14 million in wagers that bettors placed through a toll-free telephone number or a web site, both of which routed to a wire room in Costa Rica.
Cammisano was the fifth person to plead guilty in recent weeks to roles in the gambling operation.
In 1988, the FBI identified Cammisano as a lieutenant in Kansas City's outfit. At the time, the bureau also identified his father, known as "Willie the Rat," as the city's top mob leader at the time.
In 1989, a federal jury convicted Cammisano of obstruction of justice, and he was sentenced to five years in prison. A judge later trimmed two years off that sentence after an appeals court ruled that prosecutors had not presented enough evidence of his alleged organized crime activities to justify the higher sentence.
In September 1994, his federal conviction prompted the Missouri Gaming Commission to ban Cammisano from the state's casinos.
Fighting that exclusion, Cammisano denied any connection to organized crime and praised his father as "a great man."
At today's hearing, a federal magistrate released Cammisano on his own recognizance and gave him permission to participate in the spring bow-hunting season for wild turkeys and operate a fireworks business.
