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A mobster allegedly linked to a case involving rigged card games tied to some NBA members was denied bail Tuesday amid fears that he could tamper with a witness.
A judge denied bail for Anthony Ruggiero Jr., despite his request for a $5 million bond backed by family and friends during a bail hearing in Brooklyn federal court, the New York Post reported.
Judge Joseph Marutollo agreed with federal prosecutors, who raised concerns about Ruggiero’s potential to interfere with witnesses if released from custody.
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Green poker table with poker cards are seen during the World Series of Poker 2021 at RIO All-Suite Hotel & Casino on October 6, 2021, in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States. (Diego Ribas/PxImages)
“He made his hand in the shape of a gun and said, ‘You know how we take care of rats — up close and personal’,” Marutollo said of a past case in which Ruggiero, 53, had allegedly threatened to kill a witness.
Ruggiero’s lawyer, James Froccaro, argued that his client should be released on bail because other alleged mobsters in the scheme were allowed out, despite also being accused of serious offenses.
Angelo Ruggiero Jr., a made member of the Gambino crime family, has a prior conviction for threatening to kill a witness while still in prison, federal prosecutors said in a court filing last week.
“Ultimately, while together with the witness in their cell, the defendant made his hand into the shape of a gun, pointed it at the witness’s head and stated, in sum and substance, ‘You know how we take care of rats — we get up close and personal’,” court papers said, according to the Post.
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Ruggiero is the son of Angelo Ruggiero Sr., a deceased member of New York’s Gambino crime family who was the right-hand man of notorious boss John Gotti.
Ruggiero, who was known for frequently discussing crime family business on the phone, earned the nickname “Quack Quack.”
The Justice Department alleges that the younger Ruggiero was involved in a scheme to rig poker games inside a Greenwich Village apartment.
The townhouse was one of two Manhattan locations where high-stakes poker games were allegedly fixed by four of the city’s most powerful crime families, including the Gambinos, prosecutors said, according to the Post.
Poker cards and former NBA player Chauncey Billups. An alleged mobster accused of being linked to the rigged card games tied to some NBA members, was denied bail this week amid fears that he may try to intimidate a witness. (Photo by Soobum / Getty Images)
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The suspects allegedly used NBA Hall of Famer Chauncey Billups, the head coach of the Portland Trail Blazers, and former NBA player Damon Jones, 49, to attract high rollers.
Digital has reached out to Froccarro.
