MOB ASSOCIATE GETS 40 MONTHS TO SERVE IN PLEA DEAL OVER GAMBLING RING
By Donita Naylor
PROVIDENCE, R.I. — A New England mob associate from Johnston pleaded no contest to operating an illegal gambling ring and was sentenced to serve 40 months of a 20-year sentence, the Attorney General’s Office said in a news release Tuesday.
Under terms of the agreement, Vincent “Tootsie” Tallo, 53, of 12 Poppyhill Drive, Johnston, will serve about 16 years of his sentence on probation. He was sent to the Adult Correctional Institutions by Superior Court Justice Jeffrey A. Lanphear to begin serving his 40 months.
“Hollywood may have glamorized the mob lifestyle, but Vinny Tallo is nothing more than a common criminal hanging on to the fantasy of being in the game with a ‘made guy,’” Atty. Gen. Peter F. Kilmartin said in a news release. “There is nothing glamorous about selling drugs, bookmaking or prison.”
Tallo was arrested in May, 2011, with 22 other suspects after a six-month investigation by the Attorney General’s Office and the Rhode Island State Police. He has been out on bail.
A court-authorized wire intercept of Tallo’s cell phone recorded thousands of incriminating conversations, the news release said. The investigation established that Tallo was accepting illegal sports wagers on professional and college sports and arranging for payouts and collections.
Tallo was further suspected of buying and selling prescription narcotics from his residence and of being in possession of a firearm while in possession of a controlled substance, the news release said.
Two people involved in Tallo’s operation were identified as Edward C. Lato and Frank L. “Bobo” Marrapese Jr., both members of the Patriarca organized crime family.