Anthony Trentacosta

Anthony Trentacosta (b. 1939) aka. "Tony Pep" is a New York mobster who became a caporegime with the Gambino crime family and reportedly headed a Gambino crew in South Florida. [1]

John Gotti and the gasoline racket

In the 1980's, Trentacosta became a made man, or a full member, of the Gambino family under the sponsorship of new family boss and longtime friend John Gotti. Working out of Brooklyn and Ozone Park, Queens Trentacosta soon had convictions for armed robbery, bookmaking, burglary, receiving stolen property, trespassing, parole violations and criminal contempt in Brooklyn and Ozone Park, Queens. However, Trentacosta was not viewed within the family as a "tough-guy". By the end of the decade, Trentacosta would be considered one of top earners in the family. His primary racket was a gasoline bootlegging that reportedly cost the U.S. government over $1 billion in lost tax revenues. [2]

Moving South

In March, 1999, after the death of longtime caporegime Anthony "Fat Andy" Ruggiano, the Gambino family allegedly transferred Trentacosta to South Florida to lead Ruggiano's crew. Along with representives of Leonard "Lenny" DiMaria, Trentacosta joined a crew that was conducting loansharking, extortion and bank fraud. The crew operated out of a pizzeria known as Beachside Mario's in Sunny Isles Beach, Florida. By 2000, Trentacosta had become the caporegime of the South Florida crew.

In 2001, Trentacosta was indicted on racketeering charges and sentenced to eight years in prison in April, 2002. As part of his plea bargain, Trentacosta admitted that he belonged to the Gambino family. [3] As of December 2007, Anthony Trentacosta, at age 67, is still in prison

See also

• Leonard "Lenny" DiMaria
• Gambino crime family

External links

• This Week in Gangland: Tony Pep Goes South by Jerry Capeci
• http://www.geocities.com/OrganizedCrimeSyndicates/GambinoFlorida.html

http://www.sptimes.com/News/092900/State/March_trial_set_in_te.shtml http://www.majorwager.com/forums/mess-hall/6812-mob-connection-gambling.html