Gambling sting shows FBI is keeping watch on Valley

A gambling sting in Struthers last week coordinated by the FBI demonstrates that federal authorities haven't lost sight of the need to vigilantly pursue organized crime and corruption in the Mahoning Valley.
The operator of LaVilla Sports Bar and Grill in Struthers and 15 others have been charged with running a sports bookmaking business. The indictment charges that all 16 violated federal gambling laws. The defendants, the last of whom were expected to surrender today, were all affiliated with one another, according to Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew B. Kall.
The FBI's net proved to be wide in this case as defendants hail from Canfield, Campbell, Hubbard, Struthers, Boardman, Youngstown and Bessemer and Hillsville, Pa. One of them, Vito Yeropoli is a Mahoning Township supervisor. They face maximum penalties of five years in prison and $250,000 fines.
The net also included links to the Valley's seedy and legendary underworld past. The LaVilla club is owned by Josephine Carabbia, according to Mahoning County records. She is the wife of former organized crime figure Ronald Carabbia, who spent 25 years in prison for the car-bombing death of a rival mobster.
According to attorneys representing defendants in the case, FBI authorities began their investigation years ago using search warrants. Then, an extensive network of phone taps was used to build their case. The principal time period covered in the indictments runs from Nov. 10, 2001, through Jan. 20, 2002.
Given the FBI's track record of tenacious investigations that build airtight cases, we would expect successful prosecutions in this case.
The sting's impact
Although the short-term practical impact of last week's gambling sting pales in comparison to the unprecedented federal crackdown on organized crime and public corruption that landed dozens of Mahoning County attorneys and public officials in prison in recent years, the case bodes well to rid the community of another denizen of illegal gambling. One can be fairly certain, however, that LaVilla is not the last bastion of such activity.
It is the long-term psychological impact of the case, however, that looms larger. It should serve to renew the confidence of Mahoning Valley residents that the FBI and other federal authorities remain aggressive in their commitment to rid the region of organized crime and public corruption in all forms at all levels.