STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- A city firefighter, once a Staten Island Catholic high school football coach, has pleaded guilty to a federal tax charge stemming from his involvement in an illegal sports gambling operation, said federal prosecutors.
Salvatore Ferraioli, 33, of Westerleigh, was a bookmaker in an enterprise run by Dean Depreta and Richard Uva, both alleged associates of the Gambino organized crime family, said Deidre M. Daly, U.S. attorney for Connecticut.
In the summer of 2012, Ferraioli was among 20 suspects busted for their alleged involvement in the enterprise whose roots were in Connecticut. Ferraioli was the only Island resident; most of the suspects live in Connecticut.
He was not listed in the indictment as an alleged mob associate.
Authorities said the ring ran a large-scale illegal sports bookmaking operation and illegal card gambling clubs in Stamford and Hamden, Conn.
According to court papers, Ferraioli participated in the sports bookmaking operation between January 2008 and December of 2011.
Court documents said gamblers placed bets with offshore Internet sports gambling websites, particularly www.44wager.com, based in Costa Rica. The suspects collected and disbursed funds to and from bettors locally, and transferred a portion of the proceeds to the ringleaders, Depreta and Uva, said officials.
Depreta and Uva and others also ran three illegal card gambling clubs in Connecticut, court papers said.
Authorities said FBI analysis of the 44wager.com website data determined the total gross revenues of the gambling operation were nearly $1.7 million from October 2010 to June 2011.
Besides the FBI, the case was investigated by various police agencies and the Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation Division.
Ferraioli pleaded guilty to one count of failing to file a wagering tax return, said prosecutors.
He is scheduled to be sentenced on June 17 and faces a maximum of a year in jail and a fine of up to $25,000, said Ms. Daly's office.
Ferraioli has agreed to forfeit $160,988 and to pay back taxes, interest and penalties, prosecutors said.
Ferraioli's lawyer, Gerald J. McMahon, of Manhattan, said his client was the only defendant allowed to plead to a misdemeanor charge.
"He's a good guy," said McMahon.
At the time of Ferraioli's arrest, an FDNY spokesman said the defendant had been suspended for 30 days without pay. Afterward, he was reinstated and placed on an administrative detail.
He remains on administrative assignment, the spokesman said on Friday.
Advance records show Ferraioli, a volunteer, had coached junior varsity football at St. Joseph by-the-Sea since at least 2007. He resigned after his arrest.