Two convicted of strip club extortion

A federal jury in Manhattan yesterday convicted Salvatore "Fat Sal" Scala and Thomas "Monk" Sassano of shaking down the Manhattan VIP Club, according to a report by 1010 WINS.

The two men were found guilty of extortion and conspiracy to extort. Prosecutors said they used "actual and threatened force" to extract payments from the strip club.

Scala (right), 64-year-old reputed captain in the Gambino Crime Family, was also found guilty of four counts of tax evasion. He reportedly did not file income tax returns for the years 1998-2001. Authorities labeled Sassano, 61, a soldier of the Gambino family.

The two men are in prison awaiting a sentencing date. Scala has reportedly been in poor health. He has cancer and a heart-related ailment.

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• Two tried for shaking down NY strip club 03-14-07

Two tried for shaking down NY strip club

Reputed Gambino Crime Family capo Salvatore "Fat Sal" Scala and his aide Thomas "Monk" Sassano sucked hundreds of thousands of dollars out of a Manhattan strip club from the mid-1990s to 2002, according to the prosecution's opening statement in Manhattan federal court yesterday. The opening of the trial was reported by Kati Cornell of the New York Post.

Scala (left), 64, reportedly drew so much cash from the VIP Club that it was unable to pay its taxes. Assistant U.S. Attorney Eric Snyder said he "bled it dry."

The prosecution charges that Sassano, 61, was placed in charged of the extortion operation when Scala was jailed in an unrelated case.