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A mobster allegedly linked to a case involving rigged card games tied to some NBA members was denied bail Tuesday amid fears he could tamper with a witness.
A judge denied bail for Anthony Ruggiero Jr. despite his request for a $5 million bond backed by family and friends during a bail hearing in Brooklyn federal court, the New York Post reported.
Judge Joseph Marutollo agreed with federal prosecutors, who raised concerns about Ruggiero’s potential to interfere with witnesses if released from custody.
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The World Series of Poker 2021 at RIO All-Suite Hotel & Casino Oct. 6, 2021, in Las Vegas. (Diego Ribas/PxImages)
“He made his hand in the shape of a gun and said, ‘You know how we take care of rats — up close and personal’,” Marutollo said of a past case in which Ruggiero, 53, had allegedly threatened to kill a witness.
Ruggiero’s lawyer, James Froccaro, argued that his client should be released on bail because other alleged mobsters in the scheme were allowed out despite also being accused of serious offenses.
Angelo Ruggiero Jr., a made member of the Gambino crime family, has a prior conviction for threatening to kill a witness while still in prison, federal prosecutors said in a court filing last week.
“Ultimately, while together with the witness in their cell, the defendant made his hand into the shape of a gun, pointed it at the witness’s head and stated, in sum and substance, ‘You know how we take care of rats — we get up close and personal,'” court papers said, according to the Post.
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Ruggiero is the son of Angelo Ruggiero Sr., a deceased member of New York’s Gambino crime family who was the right-hand man of notorious boss John Gotti.
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