HARTFORD, Conn., Dec. 29 (UPI) -- Anthony "Tony" Volpe, the reputed elder statesman of Hartford, Conn.'s extortion and gambling rackets has died, a Federal Bureau of Investigation agent said.
He was 78 when he died Tuesday after a long hospitalization.
Volpe was said to be aligned with New York's Genovese crime family, and until his death allegedly was involved in central Connecticut's mob enterprises, including truck hijacking, sports betting, labor racketeering and loan-sharking.
Retired FBI agent Donald Brutnell focused his efforts on making cases against Volpe and other alleged South End Hartford hustlers, mobsters and gamblers during the 1980's and 1990's, The Hartford (Conn.) Courant reported Wednesday.
"It's the end of an era, absolutely," Brutnell said.
