Dec 5, 2008 5:39 pm US/Eastern
Limone Pleads Not Guilty To Running Gambling Ring
Peter Limone Spent 3 Decades In Prison For Murder He Didn't Commit
By Denise Lavoie, AP Writer
WOBURN (AP) ―
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Peter Limone was arrested on gaming charges after he was released from prison for a wrongful conviction.
The Boston Globe
A man who spent more than three decades in prison after being framed for a 1965 gangland murder pleaded not guilty Friday to new charges that he ran an organized crime ring that took in hundreds of thousands of dollars from illegal gambling.
Peter Limone, 74, of Medford, is charged with 12 counts of attempted extortion, loan-sharking and illegal gaming. Investigators using wiretaps and surveillance said they found Limone used a network of subordinates and bookmakers who placed illegal bets on sporting activities, including basketball, baseball, football and horse racing, for customers in and around Boston and throughout Middlesex County.
His arrest Thursday came seven years after he was released from prison after serving more than three decades for the 1965 murder of Edward "Teddy" Deegan, a small-time hoodlum who was shot in an alley.
Limone, three other men and their families won a $101.7 million civil judgment last year after a federal judge found that Boston FBI agents withheld evidence they knew could prove the men were not involved in Deegan's killing. The judge said the FBI considered the four men "collateral damage" in its war against the Mafia, the bureau's top priority in the 1960s.
Two of the men died in prison while Limone and Joseph Salvati were exonerated in 2001. Limone was awarded $26 million in the judgment.
Limone's attorney, Juliane Balliro, argued Limone should be released on bail, citing his wrongful conviction and decades behind bars.
"No defendant in the Commonwealth is as deserving of the presumption of innocence as Mr. Limone," Balliro said.
After spending the night in jail, Limone smiled and waved at his wife, Olympia, as he was arraigned on the new charges Friday. He stayed in a small room off the courtroom while the charges against him were read.
"I'm feeling good," he said as he left Middlesex Superior Court after posting $5,000 bail. He declined to comment on the charges, which carry sentences from two to 15 years and $35,000 in fines.
Three other men who also arrested in the gaming scheme pleaded innocent: Joseph DiPrizio, who allegedly ran the organization's central booking office; Thomas Palladino, who allegedly handled payments and collections; and Anthony Squillante, who authorities said served as an intermediary between Palladino and Limone.
Assistant District Attorney John Verner said authorities began investigating Limone and other alleged members of the ring 18 months ago.
Verner said Limone rarely used the telephone, but was caught on a wiretap several times discussing the gambling operation. In one recorded phone call, he was heard "rather colorfully" describing "how upset he is that someone is not paying him a gambling debt," Verner said.
According to a transcript of the conversation included in a statement of the case filed by prosecutors Friday, Limone discusses collecting money from the bookmaker with one of his subordinates.
"Tell him I want to see him and I want the (expletive) money now," Limone said, according to the transcript.
Verner said when authorities raided Limone's Medford home in March, they seized $26,000 in cash. Within a week, he said, Limone was back running the gambling ring.
In court documents, prosecutors said a review of Limone's bank records show a "steady pattern" of large cash deposits -- $178,805 since 2001, when he was released from prison -- even though police surveillance showed he "did not perform any normal working activity."
Instead, Limone hosted "a parade of visitors" at a meat market and coffee shop in Boston's North End neighborhood. Prosecutors said many of the people Limone was seen meeting with had previously been convicted of involvement in organized crime, although they did not name anyone in court documents.
Balliro disputed that, saying Limone has been working as a salesman for a produce company.
Limone charged tens of thousands of dollars in rent to four bookmakers who wanted to operate within Limone's territory, and took in hundreds of thousands of dollars in gambling funds, according to prosecutors.
Limone's men allegedly charged exorbitant interest on debts -- 2 percent per week, or 280 percent annually.
(© 2009 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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