Rhode Island police charge 15 with running gambling ring

David Rising

Thursday, Nov. 16, 2000 | 5:11 a.m.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. - State police have broken up a multistate sports betting operation they said brought in nearly $1 million in a seven-week period.

Massachusetts State Police on Thursday picked up one man, while state police in Rhode Island and Connecticut on Wednesday arrested 13 others, on charges including racketeering, bookmaking and conspiracy. One man remains on the lam.

Police said the operation was not related to the Johnston sports gambling ring allegedly run by mobster Anthony M. "The Saint" St. Laurent from his Kentucky prison cell, which was broken up in 1999, but ties to organized crime are suspected.

"We feel strongly that an operation such as this one, due to it being highly profitable and lucrative, would not be allowed to operate without paying the proper tribute to the New England LCN (La Cosa Nostra) family," said Lt. Michael Iarossi, the state police's interim detective commander.

"The way we look at it, illegal sports betting is alive and well, it's one of the key components of the organized crime revenue stream, and we will address it at every angle," Iarossi said.

State police said they began tapping telephone lines in September after receiving information about the illegal wagering on sporting events. As a result of the court-authorized intercepts, police said they determined the ring was headed by Stephen Roccio, 54, and John Battista, 48, both of Cranston.

State police, with help from the Cranston and Providence Police Departments, the FBI, and the Massachusetts and Connecticut State Police, seized numerous gambling records and approximately $37,000 in cash in raids Wednesday. An additional $128,000 was seized Thursday from various safe deposit boxes, Iarossi said.

Some of those arrested were the same people charged last week when state police raided the Sports Fan Social Club in Cranston, breaking up another illegal gambling ring, Iarossi said.

The recent raids are not part of a general crackdown on gambling, but police do consider the problem serious, Iarossi said.

"It may seem innocuous enough to place a bet with your corner bookie, but what's seldom seen is the repercussions suffered by people who can't make their payments - physical violence, extortion, threats, death - there's a lot that goes on," Iarossi said.

The people charged in the case were all men ranging in age from 32 to 67. They were primarily from Cranston and Johnston, but five listed addresses in North Providence, Providence, Smithfield, Uncasville, Conn., and Fall River, Mass. All were arraigned at state police headquarters, and released bail ranging from $4,000 cash to personal recognizance.