Sunday, October 05, 2003

By Joe Smydo, Post-Gazette Staff Writer

The state attorney general's office said an investigation of bookmaking in Washington County didn't stop with the bust of what's been described as a Washington-based sports betting ring.

But where it's focused now is anyone's guess.

Deputy attorney general Brad Hellein declined to say whether the 10 men charged in August had been asked to assist in a continuing investigation.

But John Cencich, professor of law and justice at California University of Pennsylvania, said prosecutors in such cases often try to get defendants to provide information about higher-ups in their organization or information about other criminal groups. He said defendants may cooperate to get a more lenient sentence.

"That's how the game is played," said Cencich, who investigated illegal gambling when he was a special agent with the Virginia Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control.

All 10 defendants in the local case waived their preliminary hearings, scheduled for Sept. 26, and remain free on $25,000 unsecured bond each. Hellein said he expected many to plead guilty.

The alleged ringleaders, Mickey Flynn, 62, owner of Union Grill in Washington, and Charles Martin, 50, of South Strabane, are charged with participating in a corrupt organization, a felony, and misdemeanor counts of pool selling and bookmaking.

Bookmaking and pool selling charges were filed against eight men identified as the organization's bookies: William Antonio, 58, of Clarksville; James Celedonia, 53, of Upper St. Clair; William Cihal, 76, of Pittsburgh; Edmond Cononge, 43, of Canton; William McGonigle, 69, of Peters; John Pankas, 68, of Canonsburg; and Daniel Piccolo, 75, and Charles Skorvan, 58, both of Monongahela. All but Antonio also face a conspiracy charge, and Cononge faces drug possession charges because police said they found marijuana and steroids in his home.

The attorney general's office initially said Antonio lived in Beallsville, but court records list a Clarksville address. Also, police and court records inconsistently give Cononge's first name as "Edmund" and "Edmond," but he used the latter spelling when he signed a court paper.

Because of the charges against Celedonia, the state suspended his harness-racing license. Horses he owns and co-owns cannot race in Pennsylvania, said Anton Leppler, executive secretary of the Pennsylvania Harness Racing Commission.

Celedonia also has a harness-racing license in Ohio. His license there has not been affected, said Marty Evans, spokesman for the Ohio State Racing Commission.

Hellein said he's certain the charges against Flynn's group didn't stop bookmaking in the county. However, he said he didn't know whether others have moved into the positions allegedly held by Flynn, Martin and the others.

Trooper Anthony Cornetta, one of the investigators in the Flynn case, said "general knowledge" led him to the restaurateur. He denied any connection between the Flynn case and the investigation of suspended District Justice Ronald Amati, convicted in 2001 of running a video poker operation.

Piccolo was a witness in the Amati case, which Cornetta investigated.

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