‘Degenerate Gambler’ Busted in 15 Mil Cross-Country Pot Ring
- Queens ringleaders John Kelly and Richard Sinde oversaw sellers of $15 million distribution network between New York and California
- Lawyer once called Gambino family associate a “degenerate gambler”
- 20 pounds of pot, supplies and packing material found in bakery owned by Mafia capo
- Another man arrested, Frank Parisi, is accused of running a $1 million illegal gambling business
An elderly Gambino family captain was among those busted for running a $15 million cross-country pot-distribution operation, prosecutors announced Tuesday.
Queens ringleaders John Kelly, 52, and Richard Sinde, 51, allegedly oversaw the distribution of sellers between New York and California.
Sinde, who is currently serving a two- to six-year prison sentence upstate in a Bonanno enterprise corruption case in Manhattan, was once called a “degenerate gambler” by his own lawyer.
Frank Parisi, 60, is accused of possessing more than 20 pounds of marijuana. He was found with packing materials, supplies and 20 pounds of marijuana in his apartment and his bakery, which ironically is located just a few blocks from the courthouse where he was arrested.
The conspiracy used shipping lines, FedEx parcels and cars to import high-end prescription pot, grown by legal farms in the "Emerald Triangle" in Northern California, cops said.
“They were overgrowing during their natural harvest season. They also used hydroponics inside, and also they grew this marijuana inside of greenhouses,” said Inspector John Denesopolis of the NYPD's Criminal Enterprise Investigation Unit. “They were doing it in excess of the amount they were allowed."
“Mr. Parisi's role was to distribute that on the streets of New York,” Assistant District Attorney Brian Foley said at Parisi's arraignment in Manhattan Supreme Court.
“He works every day, every hour, every week in that bakery,” Parisi lawyer Jeremy Schneider countered.
Parisi is also accused of participating in a $1 million illegal gambling ring based at Bklynsportscenter.com, along with co-defendants Frank Galesi, 50, Carl Muraco, 52, and Stephen Gallo, 64.
- Jagajeet Chiba, Gambling911.com
