WCNYH

Former Longshoreman Barred from Returning to Waterfront Because of Illegal Bookmaking, Selling Drugs, Associating with an Organized Crime Figure/Convicted Racketeer, and Fraud.

January 10, 2017

    Today, the Commission unanimously ordered the denial of a petition by former longshoreman Salvatore Gregorio who had sought the restoration of his longshore registration. The Commission denied the petition after finding that Gregorio had been involved in illegal bookmaking; selling marijuana; associating with an organized crime figure, career offender, and convicted racketeer; committing fraud, deceit, or misrepresentation in connection with his petition; and apparently abandoning his petition for restoration after declining to answer Commission questions.

   Gregorio had been employed as a longshoreman at the Howland Hook Marine Terminal, in Staten Island, New York. After a joint investigation by the Waterfront Commission and the Kings County District Attorney’s Office, he was arrested on June 7, 2011 and subsequently indicted for Promoting Gambling in the First Degree and two counts of Conspiracy. Gregorio was taking bets from other longshoremen at the piers and receiving a percentage of the proceeds from the illegal operation. Pursuant to a plea agreement with the Kings County District Attorney’s Office, Gregorio pleaded guilty to Disorderly Conduct and agreed to surrender his longshoreman’s registration with prejudice. The Commission accepted that surrender with prejudice on May 7, 2013.

   On May 10, 2016, Gregorio filed a petition, with sponsorship from employer GCT New York LP, asking that the Commission restore his registration as a longshoreman. Following an investigation, the Commission found evidence of the following:

• Gregorio had associated with Mario Gallo, an associate of the Bonanno and Lucchese crime families, a convicted racketeer, and a career offender. The crime families had employed Gallo as a hitman. He was convicted of murder in aid of racketeering and conspiracy to distribute cocaine, among other charges. Following Gallo’s release from prison, Gregorio attended Gallo’s birthday dinner and shared a vacation with him.


• Gregorio committed fraud, deceit, or misrepresentation in connection with his sworn petition to the Commission for restoration of his registration as a longshoreman. Gregorio lied that he had never knowingly associated with a person known or reputed to be a member or associate of an organized crime group , when, in truth and in fact, he had associated with Mario Gallo.


• Gregorio knowingly and unlawfully sold marijuana.


• Gregorio knowingly advanced or profited from unlawful gambling activity by knowingly engaging in bookmaking. He received bets, oversaw wagers, managed illegal online gambling accounts, and collected debts from longshoremen at the employee parking lot of New York Container Terminal (now GCT New York LP at the Howland Hook Marine Terminal). The Commission further noted the risks of organized crime influence as a result of an illegal gambling operation on the waterfront.


• Gregorio appears to have abandoned his Petition for Restoration in that he has not reached out to the Commission since declining to answer questions or provide requested documents at the Commission’s offices.

   The Commission further found that Gregorio’s presence at the piers or other waterfront terminals would constitute a danger to the public peace or safety. In light of these findings, the Commission denied Gregorio’s petition for restoration of his registration as a longshoreman.