aa Gea ~- aren SS JFK Assassination System Date: 5/28/201 Identification Form i Agency Information ; AGENCY: FBI RECORD NUMBER: = 124-10278-10026 RECORD SERIES: HQ AGENCY FILENUMBER: = 92-2914-247 a Document Information ORIGINATOR: FBI FROM: SAC, PG TO: DIRECTOR, FBI TITLE: DATE: 01/03/1962 PAGES: 6 SUBJECTS : GM, SMO, ASSOC, RAID, GAMBLING ACT, RACK ACT DOCUMENT TYPE: PAPER, TEXTUAL DOCUMENT CLASSIFICATION: Unclassified RESTRICTIONS: 4 CURRENT STATUS: — Redact DATE OF LAST REVIEW: 08/10/1998 OPENING CRITERIA: INDEFINITE COMMENTS : da a aa at sanh ttn v9. 13 BDoclIda: 32301191 Page 1
7 A 4 i 1 ~, oa | g oe i i J “OPTIONAL FORM NO. 70 Memorandum - 5010-104-01 - UNITED STATE!”“GOVERNMENT aia : . ar a TO : DIRECTOR, FBI (92-2914)(92-2918) pare: L/S FED. fr : SAC, PITTSBURGH (92-236) (92-228) SUBJECT: capnre Onannanno, aka . \ - AR an 4 se SAMUEL MANNARINO, aka aI AR a 0n'12/18/61, PG 615-C advised SA THOMAS G. FORSYTH, III — .as follows: a ; £G/ In his opinion, the raid at the Mannarino gambling casino -. horse room in New. Kensington, Pa., on August 24, 1961, by IRS, Pittsburgh, was ill-advised, shortsighted and poorly planned. For two years, PG 615-C has been attempting to obtain increasing RL better information about the Mannarinos, their illegal.. : activities, their associates and their future plans. He has done this without any thought of, or desire for monetary compensation, simply because of his firm conviction that Fa the MANNARINO "strangle-hold" on all phases of life and activity in the New Kensington area had to be broken. FB In spite of the obvious dangers .to his professional reputation and personal safety, he commenced a process of infiltration due to his belief that such things cannot be left to "somebody else.” ES BP etter, Ele 2a Sw By frequenting gambling establishments, PG 615-c met many a of the MANNARINO employees, and by performing small favors h 8 for them, professional and otherwise, he became friendly P with most of ‘them and the confidant of some of them. f Fa. ' They furnished considerable’ information, some more valuable | Hy than others, but. a compendium of their bits of information was forming a gradually clearing picture of the entire MANNARINO operation.” ~ Aly aia eiud So ee te Pal 6- ‘BLétsbureh 1137-941 Dp | WF L4) 137-1139 G | é vee ue Tee, | neC. J 4g - £ G / 4 -4 £7 TOR/RUG L SF: Ll | q a AT | (10) A M co JAN 8.1962 PS RS ieee __— =D Te as = - ~ oon on ~ — ia —_ Qa 1b : mo i Fm. aes : Tot | DoclId: 32301191 Page 2?
| No PG 92-236 PG.92-228. Through political and business friends and acquaintances, PG 615-C was able to meet the MANNARINOS. Being careful to make his personal contacts with them casual and seemingly innocuous, PG 615-C was slowly accomplishing his plan to have: the -MANNARINOS, after doing their normal check on him, accept him. into that group of prominent, local business and. professional people with. whom they associate ona social basis. PG 615-C had reachéd the point where he could visit SAM MANNARINO's restaurant, the Bonfire, near Leechburg, Pa., and talk with MANNARINO rather openly about — such things as MANNARINO's use of narcotics. He had also — reached the point where he had been invited to. sit in on> small friendly card games at GABRIEL MANNARINO's new’ — cottage near Leechburg. — From this so far limited proximity to the MANNARINOS. and. — their employees, it became apparent. to PG 615-C that the. obtaining of a complete understanding of their operations was going to be painfully but necessarily slow, - “When the August 24, 1961 raid occurred, .theresult was that _ the MANNARINOS ordered a moratorium'on all/illegal activities and ordered that their associates and employees should, | insofar as was practicable, eave no contact with them or | with each other, until advised ‘to, thé contrary. All of — ‘these ‘people are under instructions not to "talk" if called. before the FGJ in Pittsburgh’ and PG 615-C is convinced none of them will assist thé Federal Government because. of fears of physical and ecetQmic reprisals. — a an i Oo : ae : . Because of the”rai.a°and the ensuing instructions from . the MANNARINOS, PG 615-C has temporarily lost many of his eontacts,“and in addition, there is just so little happening ~ in the Afew Kensington area that there is very little __Hnforifation that he can obtain and furnish to the Pittsburgh eee office. . . | PG 615-C.is certain, in his own mind, that .the "big guys” fi will once again escape indictment and that the most that ie / ean be expected is that more "little fish” will be prosecuted; j If this happens, the MANNARINOS will maintain their . ar a self-created, self-serving reputations as being "untouchable" 4 by prosecutive action, and the populace of New Kensington & will sink back into despair. . - | Docld: 32301191 Page 3
} | | } ' | ! a : Pe 92-236 PG 92-228 In view of the above, PCI “HERBERT LEE RAY; RD#3,- Leechbure, ' Pa., GABRIEL MANNARINO's neighbor, was contacted on 12/18/61, by SA FORSYTH, and PCI RAY was asked why he ‘had furnished SO. little information in recent months. PCI RAY advised: Prior to the “Federal raid on the MANNARINO gambling joint in New Kensington. towards the end of summer," 1961, he - observed some activity around GABRIEL MANNARINO's cottage near Leechburg. While. there were never any groups of visitors, except for one family-type outdoor picnic, occasionally _ -individuals.would visit the cottage. Also, GABRIEL MANNARINO was observed to leave the house almost daily at varying hours. Since "the raid," GABRIEL MANNARINO — has developed what amounts. almost to a predictable pattern. He leaves the: cottage on most days shortly before noon, always alone, and he returns to stay at about eight o! clock in the evening. Visitors are extremely rare and never stay more than a few minutes. PCI has not‘been able to obtain any information of recognizable pertinence and, therefore, . _has not contacted SA FORSYTH. on’ 12/18/61, PCI ANTHONY JOHN WISE, JR. Pitteburen, Pa., employed as Manager of the MANNARINO- owned. Ken Tron and > Steel Co:, New Kensington, was asked by SA FORSYTH why he has not been furnishing and pertinent information during the recent past, and he advised: . oe, oI Even before the "Government raid” in: New Kensington in August 1961, he was not taken into the confidence of the MANNARINOS as regards anything but their scrap metals and © gas well businesses. They put him in charge of these two ventures because. of his education and prior experience. However, . ‘on occasion he overheard: conversations involving some of their other interests and observed them meet some of their associates and/or employees. Since the raid, he ‘has not seen GABRIEL MANNARINO more than three times. and understands that GABRIEL MANNARINO is spending most of his time at his cottage near Leechburg, Pa., while SAM MANNARINO spends the largest portion of each day at his restaurant, The Bonfire, “located a few miles from Leechburg." From. what he has been able to observe and learn, SAM MANNARINO ‘and GABRIEL MANNARINO see very little of each other or of» their erstwhile associates. PCI does not feel that he can probe for information from either MANNARINO without #rousing - heir suspicions, because it has b s habit to observe and listen but not to ask questions . 3 | DoclId: 32301191 Page 4
= - PG 92-236 PG 92-228 on 12/19/61, PG.612-C, whois an experienced numbers writer in the MANNARINO operation/2nNew Kensington, was asked about the dearth of pertinent information being received, and informant advised: The town (New Kensington) has been chosed down almost completely, as regards gambling, since the "Federal raid last summer" and since the commencement of the FGJ inquiry. Besides the numbers racket, which is down in volume by at least half, there are only three card games in the city, only one of whichis operating on any given night. Horse bets, sports bets and dice games have been eliminated, . allegedly by orders of the MANNARINOS. : Men who have been for years employed in one phase or another of the MANNARINO gambling set-ups are now loafing about town, and their principal. topics of discussion concern the FGJ hearings, their belief that the newly-elected reform administration in New Kensington will not allow resumption of open gambling, and their "fears" concerning their own futures. With. regard to the numbers racket, elaborate security measures have been put into effect, and only those possessing the Federal Wagering Tax Stampcare permitted to participate. In view of these facts, pertinent. information has been scarce “ and unreliable. - Spot surveillances at residences, legitimate business sites: and at known hangouts during the past four months have been wholly unproductive and tend to substantiate the comments of - the above mentioned informants. Due to the situation created by the IRS raid on August 24, — 1961, and the resultant FGJ probe, as it affects receipt | by the Pittsburgh Office of positive information concerning the MANNARINOS and their activities, the Pittsburgh office | -has found it impossible to comply fully with Bureau instructions concerning submission of a daily teletype summary of pertinent developments. . oo - As matters now stand, the. only readily discernible method _ of collecting current positive information concerning either _ MANNARINO is by establishing highly. confidential. sources. nN, DoclId: 32301191 Page 5