FBI used store as front in Top Rank probe

By Jeff German (contact)

Thursday, Jan. 15, 2004 | 11:21 a.m.

FBI agents Wednesday moved items out of a phony wholesale clothing business they used as a front for stolen property in a far-reaching undercover investigation into organized crime, including allegations of fight-fixing within the boxing world.

The Las Vegas office of Top Rank Inc., run by well-known boxing promoter Bob Arum, was searched by FBI agents on Jan. 6 as part of the probe, which public records show has been taking place since at least Oct. 31, 2002.

On that date, records show, an undercover New York police detective working with local FBI agents submitted an application for a Las Vegas business license for YGJ & Co.

The undercover detective, using the name of Frank Manzione, is listed as the sole owner of the wholesale clothing business, which is in a small strip mall at 3227 Meade Ave., an industrial area in the shadow of the Palace Station between Valley View Boulevard and Interstate 15.

Manzione, who listed his age as 33, said on the application that the business involved the "import and export of clothing and related products, as well as, consulting services."

He said the business was to open on Nov. 4, 2002, and had no employees.

Law enforcement sources said Manzione posed as "Big Frankie," a New York underworld associate fencing stolen goods out of the FBI storefront.

The investigation, dubbed "Operation Match Book," is reminiscent of the FBI's "Operation Thin Crust" probe of the late 1990s, which resulted in the racketeering convictions of top members of the Los Angeles mob.

In that investigation, which used a storefront near the site of the Meade Avenue location, undercover FBI agents also fenced stolen goods, and they apprehended the killers of local underworld figure Herbie Blitzstein, who was gunned down in a 1997 plot by the Los Angeles crime family to take over street rackets in Las Vegas.

On Wednesday, agents assigned to the FBI's Organized Crime Squad, were moving racks of Tommy Hilfiger clothing out of the Meade Avenue storefront through a large storage area and into a white pickup truck in the back of the property. Corduroy jeans, short-sleeved polo shirts, athletic jumpsuits, and fleece tops were among the items being loaded.

Cardboard boxes were piled high against one wall in the high-ceiling storage area next to a couple of motorcycles. A Mercedes SL600 sports coupe with California license plates was parked behind the boxes, along with a GMC Yukon sports utility vehicle also with California plates.

Agents carrying out the clothing acknowledged they were with the Organized Crime Squad and were shutting down an operation, but they referred all comments to the FBI's chief local spokesman, Todd Palmer, who declined comment.

Law enforcement sources, however, said the investigation, though it involves Top Rank and alleged fight-fixing, stretches beyond the boxing world.

Cases of bootleg alcohol, for example, allegedly were fenced by undercover agents at local nightclubs during the probe. Auto insurance fraud scams also were uncovered, and there were said to be incidents of drug trafficking.

In the Jan. 6 raid at Top Rank, agents checked the drains for flushed drugs, sources said.

Agents also seized computers, videotapes of fights and business records dating back to 2001.

The search warrant and accompanying FBI affidavit, are sealed, but the warrant was described by those who saw it as very general in nature. There were no references, for example, to any dealings involving Manzione.

The warrant deliberately was kept generic so that those working at Top Rank could not figure out the extent of the investigation, sources close to the case said.

The search, sources said, was a way for agents to end the undercover portion of the probe and continue gathering evidence by secretly monitoring the conversations of those suspected of wrongdoing.

Stan Hunterton, a former prosecutor with the federal Organized Crime Strike Force in Las Vegas, said the warrant would not have been served unless the undercover phase of the investigation was over.

"Sometimes electronic surveillance will continue so that you can hear how the suspects react to the search warrant," he said.

There were no court-approved wiretaps in this investigation, sources said, but federal agents or anyone under their direction, such as Manzione, had legal authority to record conversations on their own phone lines.

Manzione, who no longer is undercover, and others also were secretly wired as they wheeled and dealed on the street.

The FBI so far has not interviewed any of the key figures in the investigation, and sources said no other searches are contemplated in the near future.

Sean Gibbons, a Top Rank matchmaker, was fired by Arum several days after the raid.

Arum and his lawyer, Richard Wright, declined comment Wednesday. Attorney David Chesnoff, who represents Gibbons, also declined comment.

A Sun reporter visited the home of Gibbons Wednesday and found kids sparring with boxing gloves on the street. A man answered the door, but said Gibbons wasn't home.

Sun reporter

Rob Miech contributed to this story.