STRUTHERS MAN Sentence looms in cocaine venture

The drugs were manufactured in a secret room at a Clingan Road house.
By BOB JACKSON
VINDICATOR COURTHOUSE REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- A Struthers man faces a potential three-year prison sentence for his role in a cocaine ring that he helped his son operate.
Larry Gentile, 51, of Clingan Road, pleaded guilty this week in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court to engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity and attempting to fund a drug transaction.
Judge Jack Durkin allowed Gentile to remain free while he awaits sentencing. The Ohio Adult Parole Authority will do a court-ordered background check on Gentile in the meantime.
Prosecutors are recommending three years, though Judge Durkin will have the final say on sentencing.
What he did
Authorities said Gentile was part of a ring that provided cocaine to people in Poland, Struthers, Boardman and Youngstown.
Gentile's son, Christopher, 31, was believed to be the leader of the operation. He is serving a 10-year sentence after pleading guilty to drug charges in December 2002.
Christopher Gentile was expected to testify against his father had Larry Gentile's case gone to trial next week as scheduled.
Bob Patton, case agent for the Mahoning Valley Drug Task Force, said Larry Gentile built a secret room in the basement of his house that was used as a distribution and packaging hub for the operation.
Christopher Gentile would typically receive a shipment of cocaine from a supplier and take it to his father's house. In the secret room, the cocaine was "cut," or mixed with other white, powdery substances to double its original weight, Patton said.
Repackaged it
He said the diluted cocaine then was repackaged and compressed to make it appear that it was in its original packaging.
Christopher Gentile paid his father every month for allowing the drug operation to be run out of the house, Patton said.
Larry Gentile's attorney, Douglas B. Taylor, declined to comment pending sentencing.
bjackson@vindy.com