NEW YORK -- Mario Gigante, the brother of a reputed boss of the Genovese crime family, was sentenced Wednesday to eight years in a federal prison for loansharking.
Gigante, 59, was convicted by a jury March 11 after a four-week trial in U.S. District Court in Manhattan and faced a maximum sentence of 20 years.
Judge Charles Stewart listened to appeals for leniency from Gigante's two sons, Salvatore and Louis, and his brother, the Rev. Louis Gigante, a former City Councilman from the Bronx, before sentencing him to eight years in jail.
The Rev. Gigante said he was 'very, very disappointed' with the sentence and said the charges against his brother were a 'myth.'
Gigante's other brother, Vincent 'Chin' Gigante, has been identified by law enforcement officials as an underboss of the Genovese crime family.
Gigante was convicted of providing money for loans at exorbitant rates, and his codefendant, Michael Vodola, 57, of Yonkers, aided in disbursing the money and collecting it, federal prosecutors said during the trial.
To ensure payment on the loans, Vodola indicated to debtors that Gigante had connections with organized crime and warned that Gigante would harm them if they did not pay, prosecutors said.
Gigante was charged with personally threatening and beating one of the debtors, Ralph Sirabella.
Asked by Stewart if he had anything to say before announcing the sentence, Gigante said softly, 'I never struck Mr. Sirabella. I never threatened him, and he doesn't owe me $210,000.'
Gigante's attorney, Gustave Newman, told the judge his client suffered from a variety of illnesses and presented 150 to 200 letters from people who attested Gigante was 'a soft-spoken, gentle and kind man.'
Newman said his client would appeal his conviction. Gigante has been free on $350,000 bail since his arrest on the charges in August 1982.
Stewart sentenced Vodola Tuesday to 30 months in prison.
