Manarite sentenced to at least two years

Erica D. Johnson

Wednesday, March 5, 2003 | 9:56 a.m.

An 84-year-old reputed mobster charged with shooting up a Las Vegas car dealership will spend the next two years in prison, despite his declining health.

District Judge Michael Douglas sentenced Samuel "Springfield Sam" Manarite to two to eight years in prison on state charges stemming from a 2002 shooting at Astro Auto Sales in which the lot's owner, Dino Boggiano, was shot in the hand.

Douglas ordered that the sentence be run concurrently with a 24-month sentence in federal prison Manarite received last week on federal parole violation charges.

Manarite's attorney, James "Bucky" Buchanan, said he expects that after serving the two-year sentence, his client, who has diabetes and a pacemaker, will be paroled and placed on supervision for a year.

Manarite in January pleaded the equivalent of no contest to one count of battery with a deadly weapon, in which he did not admit guilt but admitted prosecutors had enough evidence to convict him.

In exchange for his plea, Chief Deputy District Attorney Victoria Villegas dropped attempted murder and burglary charges.

Villegas also agreed not to report an additional ex-felon with a firearm charge to federal authorities, which would have guaranteed Manarite a 25-year sentence.

Manarite will likely be housed at the Federal Prison Camp at Nellis Air Force Base, where there is a wing to treat sick, elderly inmates, Buchanan said.

Still, Manarite's wife, Jeanne Manarite, said she worries for her husband's failing health.

Manarite suffered his sixth stroke two weeks ago while in custody at the Clark County Detention Center, she said.

"I'm very concerned," she said. "He was rushed to Lake Mead Hospital by ambulance. They wouldn't let me see him."

Prosecutors alleged Manarite opened fire on Boggiano and John Pasqualone because he was angry over a car deal involving his son.

Buchanan claimed Manarite emptied the gun in self-defense after the two men fired shots at him first. Buchanan denies his client is associated with the mob.

Jeanne Manarite said her husband's honest, "tell it like it is" attitude is often misunderstood.

"We've been married for 58 years," she said. "He can't be the worst guy in the world."