Anthony Megale also known as "The Genius", "Tony Connecticut", "Machiavelli", "Mac", "The Brain", "Mr. T", and "Gas Man" is a Connecticut

Connecticut

Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...

 mobster who became the acting underboss

Underboss

Underboss is a position within the leadership structure of Sicilian and American Mafia crime families. The underboss is second in command to the boss...

 of the Gambino crime family

Gambino crime family

The Gambino crime family is one of the "Five Families" that dominates organized crime activities in New York City, United States, within the nationwide criminal phenomenon known as the Mafia . The group is named after Carlo Gambino, boss of the family at the time of the McClellan hearings in 1963...

.

Criminal history

Born in Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

, Megale moved to Connecticut as a young man. Megale attended Post University

Post University

Post University is a small university located in Waterbury, Connecticut. Post University was established in 1890. Prior to May 1990, it was known as Post College...

 in Waterbury, Connecticut

Waterbury, Connecticut

Waterbury is a city in New Haven County, Connecticut, on the Naugatuck River, 33 miles southwest of Hartford and 77 miles northeast of New York City...

 for two years before dropping out. At some point, Megale joined the Gambino family. In the early 1980s, Megale was convicted of a narcotics offense.

In 1990, Megale pleaded guilty to racketeering and was sentenced to six years in prison. Megale's plea deal included an admission that he belonged to a La Cosa Nostra family, which infuriated Gambino boss John Gotti

John Gotti

John Joseph Gotti, Jr was an American mobster who became the Boss of the Gambino crime family in New York City. Gotti grew up in poverty. He and his brothers turned to a life of crime at an early age...

. In August 2001, Megale became a caporegime

Caporegime

A caporegime or capodecina, usually shortened to just a capo, is a term used in the Mafia for a high ranking made member of a crime family who heads a "crew" of soldiers and has major social status and influence in the organization...

 in the Gambino family and in 2002 became acting underboss after Peter Gotti

Peter Gotti

Peter Gotti, also known as "One Eyed Pete", "Petey Boy", "One Eye" , is a New York mobster who is the former boss of the Gambino crime family and the older brother of deceased Gambino boss John Gotti.-Background:...

's arrest on racketeering charges. A resident of North Stamford, Connecticut

Stamford, Connecticut

Stamford is a city in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. According to the 2010 census, the population of the city is 122,643, making it the fourth largest city in the state and the eighth largest city in New England...

, Megale was associated with a garbage-carting operation in that state.

Extortion victims

In August 2002, Megale met with Harry Farrington, aka "Oil Can Harry" the owner of two strip club

Strip club

A strip club is an adult entertainment venue in which striptease or other erotic or exotic dance is regularly performed. Strip clubs typically adopt a nightclub or bar style, but can also adopt a theatre or cabaret-style....

s in Fairfield County, Connecticut

Fairfield County, Connecticut

Fairfield County is a county located in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The county population is 916,829 according to the 2010 Census. There are currently 1,465 people per square mile in the county. It is the most populous county in the State of Connecticut and contains...

 who was being extorted by mobsters from the Patriarca crime family

Patriarca crime family

The Patriarca crime family, also known as the New England crime family and the Providence crime family, is an Italian-American organized crime syndicate based in New England, specifically Providence, Rhode Island and Boston, Massachusetts, and is part of the Italian-American Mafia or "La Cosa Nostra"...

 of New England

New England

New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...

. Megale contacted the Patriarca mobsters and told them that Stamford was his territory and then proceeded to extort Farrington himself. In September 2002, Megale told Farrington that he would have to pay Megale $2,000 a month in "protection" money plus a yearly $3,000 "Christmas bonus." If the payments were late, Megale threatened Farrington with violence and property destruction. Farrington's response was to go to law enforcement, which set Farrington up with a listening device for future meetings with Megale. Between November 2002 and February 2004, Farrington made regular payments to Megale while recording their meetings.

In September 2002, Megale started extorting $200 a month from a vending machine operator who already been making payments to the Gambino family since 1996. During this period, Megale also extorted money from a construction company in Westchester County, New York

Westchester County, New York

Westchester County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. Westchester covers an area of and has a population of 949,113 according to the 2010 Census, residing in 45 municipalities...

 and a New Jersey

New Jersey

New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...

 trucking company.

Prosecution

In September 2004, with evidence from Farrington and an undercover FBI agent, Megale was indicted on multiple counts, including 38 extortion charges. Megale eventually pleaded guilty and on April 3, 2006, was sentenced to more than 86 months in prison. Farrington sold his two clubs and moved out of state.

As of March 2009, Megale is serving his sentence at the Allenwood Federal Correctional Institution in Allenwood, Pennsylvania. His projected release date is July 18, 2014

External links

• Bureau of Prisons Inmate Locator
• New York Times: Connecticut Man Charged in Extortion by Mob By ALISON LEIGH COWAN
• Manhattan: Crime Boss Is Sentenced
• The Laborers: An Insider Look at The Connecticut Mob by Ted Shaffrey
• A bitter mob dispute over who controls Stamford gave the F.B.I. the opening it needed to wiretap a vital witness' by Ted Shaffrey December 1, 2005