Guilty Pleas From Last Two Defendants In Gambino Round-Up
Two mob goons pleaded guilty this afternoon to charges that they viciously beat deadbeat gamblers during what prosecutors called a "staggering" spree of crimes.
Reputed Gambino crime-family soldier Thomas Orefice and the alleged right-hand man in his crew, Dominick Difiore, both face nine or more years in the slammer under terms of their deals with the feds.
The pleas closed the book on last year's massive crackdown on the Gambinos, in which 12 other reputed gangsters have already pleaded guilty.
Those cases included an admission from reputed mob boss Daniel Marino that he authorized a 1998 hit on his own nephew, Frank Hydell, for becoming a government snitch.
"We are, however, far from finished with the Gambino family and will continue working with our law enforcement partners to put their members and associates out of business and behind bars."
Prosecutors said Orefice and Difiore were both caught blabbing about their criminal exploits on secretly made recordings, one of which captured Orefice administering a beating as his victim begged him to stop.
The hulking 34-year-old -- who spent time in the nuthouse as a teen -- allegedly became a "made" member of the Mafia in 2008 after befriending reputed Marino behind bars.
During his appearance in Manhattan federal court, he admitted loansharking, extortion and helping run a sports-betting ring and a weekly, high-stakes poker game.
Orefice was represented in court by lawyer Seth Ginsberg, who recently ran afoul of the law himself when guards at the downtown Metropolitan Correctional Center found a small bag of pot hidden in his briefcase.
Ginsberg, whose musician brother insisted the weed was his, said the feds recently told him he wouldn't be charged over the incident.
DiFiore -- already a two-time felon -- admitted that he also sold more than 1,000 potent oxycodone pills to a cooperating witness in 2009.
The heavily tattooed 31-year-old was promised full-fledged membership in the mob "as a reward for his criminal conduct," court papers say.
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