State wants paroled mob capo banned from casinos

[Louis Cypher]

The Press of Atlantic City


By JOE WEINERT Staff Writer, (609) 272-7221


ATLANTIC CITY - Although free from prison, reputed mob captain and controversial parolee Angelo Prisco should not be free to gamble in casinos, according to the Division of Gaming Enforcement.

The division on Friday asked the Casino Control Commission to add Prisco to the Exclusion List, which would bar him from setting foot inside local casino hotels.

Prisco, a 64-year-old Smithville resident, was seen gambling here as recently as June 23 at Harrah's, DGE records show. He bought $20,400 in gaming chips, and received $2,400 in complimentaries, covering 36 casino visits from 1994 to this summer. Caesars and Harrah's were his favorites.

Authorities identified Prisco as a capo, or captain, in the Genovese organized crime family.

Prisco in 1998 was sentenced to 12 years in prison by a New Jersey state judge for conspiracy to commit racketeering and arson for hire. In 1998, he pled guilty to conspiring to extort the owners of the Scores nightclub in New York City. A federal judge sentenced him to a concurrent prison term of two years.

The New Jersey State Parole Board, however, released him last year after twice having decided he should stay imprisoned. Critics claimed that Prisco won early release only after hiring the law firm of Scarinci & Hollenbeck, whose principal, Donald Scarinci, was counsel to Gov. James E. McGreevey's 2001 transition team.

Prisco's release caused an uproar that led to a state grand jury investigation and two new Parole Board members. McGreevey has denied any wrongdoing.

The casino commission will consider preliminarily placing Prisco on the Exclusion List at undecided date. He will have the right to a hearing before the commission considers permanent exclusion.

Prisco could not be reached for comment.

"This petition is part of our continuing initiative to keep disreputable individuals out of New Jersey's casino hotels," DGE Director Thomas Auriemma said.

The Exclusion List has 163 mobsters, cheats and others whose presence in a casino is considered "inimical" to the state's interest.