maxiestern11 wrote: ↑Sun Aug 11, 2019 4:37 pm
LAWRENCE (LARRY) MESSINA - born 1927 in Queens (40-04 12th Street) LI City. He later relocated out to Baldwin in Nassau County.
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Messina was identified by the mid-1960’s as a mob associate. Specifically affiliated with the Sonny Franzese regime of the Colombo Family based in Nassau County.
He was a longtime partner of two notorious Franzese bookmakers by the names of Nicky Botta and Albert Maione (nephew of Murder, Inc., contract killer Happy Maione).
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As a young man he worked as a NYC sanitation worker.
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Activity: bookmaking (horses-sports)
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Starting in 1951 he had arrests for:
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Disorderly conduct
Bookmaking (four times)
Promoting gambling
Bribery and conspiracy
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In 1976, Messina was among eleven federally indicted on interstate gambling charges. This was an FBI run investigation incorporating wiretaps put on several separate “wire-rooms” operations which established that several bookies were utilizing a master “lay-off” service.
Co-defendants included Richie Esposito (lay-off boss), Louie Maggio, Botta, Joseph Falco, John Yarmosh - a major bookie and John Iannone.
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In 1980, Messina and Botta again figured into a gambling related probe. This time in relation to the systematic bribery of a Queens State Supreme Court criminal Judge named William Brennan.
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Operating through an intermediary, restauranteur Andy Bruno, they as well as other mob figures including Colombo soldier “Little Dom” Cataldo, “Crazy Sal” Polisi among others, paid bribes over several years to either have criminal cases completely dismissed or charges vastly reduced.
Eventually the scheme came to light and the subsequent arrests, various indictments and trials became a major “black eye” for the NYS judicial system.
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Nicholas Botta turned informant and testified for the prosecution. He testified that in 1974 he paid $3,000. cash to have his five year probation sentence shortened by two years, and $12,000. cash to Judge Brennan to have a gambling indictment against his partner Larry Messina dismissed.
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After the early 1980’s and the publicity that the bribery conspiracy trials brought, Larry Messina seems to have faded away. I could find nothing more about him or his activities. No dod available.
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