Mafia-connected gambling parlor owner testifies staged police raid was unconvincing

BROOKLYN (CN) — The owner of an illegal gambling parlor testified Thursday he wasn’t convinced by a staged police raid at his storefront, bringing a new perspective to a former Nassau County detective’s attempt to intimidate rival crime families into shutting down their competing gambling spots.

Hector Rosario, 51, faces trial for charges of obstruction of justice and making false statements to an FBI agent in relation to the scheme.  Prosecutors say he took money from Bonanno organized crime family associates in exchange for staging raids at competing families’ gambling parlors in order to intimidate them into shutting down.

But Rosario only managed to successfully raid one of the gambling parlors because the other ones refused to let him in, his mafia employer testified Wednesday.

That parlor was known as Sal’s Shoe Repair, and it was owned by Salvatore Rubino, otherwise known as “Sal the Shoemaker.”

The storefront was connected with the Genovese crime family, and Bonanno associates testified that the place became a threat when one of their frequent customers began going there instead of the Bonanno-associated Gran Caffe.

The Bonanno and Genovese crime families have dominated New York City crime for decades as two of the infamous “Five Families,” alongside and in competition with the Colombo, Gambino and Lucchese families.

While still in operation, these criminal organizations aren’t nearly as active as they used to be due to the federal racketeering law that largely eradicated mafia activity and successfully induced many former mafia members to turn into government cooperators.

Like many of the witnesses on trial, Rubino signed a cooperation agreement with the government after his 2022 arrest on racketeering and illegal gambling charges.

Rubino said he saw Rosario and two others outside the storefront one night in 2013, wearing “police jackets” and badges around their neck.

“Right away, they start pushing me to the back room,” Rubino said, referring to the area where the gambling machines and card tables are stored.

When Rosario and his friends pushed their way to the illicit gambling room, Rubino said the group started asking for “Joe Box,” officially known as Joseph Rutigliano, an associate of the Genovese family. According to Rubin, he also provided the gambling machines at the shoe repair store.

When it became clear Rutigliano wasn’t there, Rubino said the posed officers broke the glass on one of the machines and ran out.

“They ran out pretty fast, I went after them,” Rubino said.

When he made it outside, he said he saw the group jump into a white car and drive away.

Rubino added he wasn’t convinced they were acting legitimately as law enforcement officers because, during the raid, they didn’t ask for any identification, seize the machines or provide any official paperwork.

“Why did the break the machines?” Rubino asked on the stand. “Something was not right.”

While trial is ongoing, Rosario is out on a $500,000 bond. He faces up to 25 years in prison altogether.

U.S. District Judge Eric N. Vitaliano, a George W. Bush nominee, is presiding.

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