Cooperation led to gambling bust

      As the Herald reported last week, John "Johnny Mulberry" Sciremammano, 47, of Shoreham, is charged with running the operation from the Skybox Lounge at 118 Long Beach Road. Also charged were Joseph Hartman, 43, of Oceanside, Kevin O'Connell, 46, of Long Beach, Michael Parisa, 40, of Malverne, Salvatore Rosato, 50, of Plainedge, and Christopher R. Vene, 34, of Sound Beach. Each was charged with first-degree promotion of gambling, a Class E felony, punishable by 15 months to four years in prison, according to Clifford.
      Sciremammano recently completed a sentence of probation for a federal racketeering conviction, and is believed to be a soldier of the Bonnano crime family.
      Clifford credited the cooperation between the two counties for the arrests. "This was an investigation we began before January, and the evidence gathered, like investigating, electronic surveillance, wiretaps, was crucial," he said.
      Since the investigation started in Suffolk, Clifford said, Suffolk ran the show, with valuable assistance from Nassau County cops. "They were invaluable," he said. "Crime doesn't really recognize the boundary between us, and it would be pointless to have two sets of files, two detectives doing questioning.
      "It wouldn't make sense," he continued, "to take the investigation from the detectives who know it and have worked on it and hand it to somebody else without the background and just a briefing on the situation. This was a team effort."
      Search warrants were served in Shoreham and Sound Beach as well as in Long Beach, Oceanside, Malverne and East Rockaway, Clifford said.
      Though the ring allegedly operated out of Island Park, bets were reportedly placed in a wire room in Costa Rica. They were then transferred to runners on Long Island, who entered the bets. Gamblers paid their bets at the Skybox Lounge and a Brookhaven town golf course in Rocky Point.
      At Skybox, gamblers could also play Joker Poker video machines similar to the video poker machines found at casinos.
      Clifford said that more charges were likely in the future. "The investigation is continuing, and we've recovered cash from safety deposit boxes, with more cash being recovered daily," he said, adding that all of the information would be collected and presented to a grand jury to determine what, if any, charges would be added.      
      Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas Spota began investigating illegal sports gambling when he took over the office in 2001 because of the effect it can have on a community, according to Clifford. "Betting has an impact on the economy," Clifford said. "And the organized-crime rings take the profits made off sports gambling and use them to fund other criminal activities like prostitution, racketeering and drugs."
      Clifford went on to explain that by halting moneymaking ventures for organized-crime rings, police are already winning half the battle. "The more you can do to disrupt the cash flow of these people, the more you'll be able to eradicate the organized-crime activities."
      The investigation into sports gambling has led to the arrest of Anthony Frascone and John Spirito, reputed members of the Bonnano crime family, Spota said. Spirito was additionally charged with a contract killing of a Bonnano associate, according to Suffolk Deputy Inspector James Burke, the head investigator in the case.