Abe Sarkis
Abraham C. Sarkis (December 9, 1913 – June 5, 1991) was an American bookmaker who oversaw Boston's numbers racket for the Patriarca crime family.
Early life[edit]
Sarkis was of Syrian descent.[1] He attended Everett High School, where he was a member of the school's baseball team.[2] He and his wife, Dorothy, had two children – Charles Sarkis and Dorothy Morkis.[3] In 1940, Sarkis suffered severe cuts when a plate glass window shattered during a two-alarm fire in his apartment building.[4]
Criminal activity[edit]
Sarkis' first arrest for bookmaking came in 1935.[3] In 1944, he and nine other were arrested in Lynn, Massachusetts for betting on a licensed boxing exhibition.[5] In 1955, he was summoned to appear before the Massachusetts Crime Commission, but refused to testify.[6]
By 1967, Sarkis was supervising Boston's numbers racket in partnership with Patriarca underboss Gennaro Angiulo.[1] That year, he and his brother, Charles, were arrested on gambling charges at the 411 Lounge, which was managed by Sarkis.[7] In 1968, Sarkis pleaded guilty to tax evasion and was sentenced to nine months in jail.[3] In 1977, he pleaded guilty to bookmaking and was fined $30,000 and sentenced to three years probation. As a condition of his parole, Sarkis was required to work 60 hours a week at the Walter E. Fernald Developmental Center.[3] Following his guilty plea, deputy assistant attorney general Jack Keeney described Sarkis as "one of Boston's largest and most senior gambling ring operators" during a United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary hearing.[8]
The following year, Sarkis was arrested for possession of a handgun.[9] He was given a one-year suspended sentence and two additional years of probation.[10] In 1980, he was arrested for illegal use of a gaming apparatus to register bets.[11] The complaint was dismissed by Judge John A. Pino on the grounds that the prosecution was unprepared to present its case.[12] Later that year, Sarkis, Ilario "Larry Baione" Zannino, Richard Assad, and Edward Lewis were arrested for allegedly running a three-county gambling ring.[13] In 1990, Sarkis and Wonderland Greyhound Park general manager and former Massachusetts State Police head Americo Sousa were indicted for running an illegal bookmaking operation that allegedly took in $100,000 a day in bets on races at the track, which was owned by Sarkis' son.[14] Sarkis died before the case against him could be resolved.[3]
Attempts on Sarkis' life[edit]
In 1960, two men, one dressed as priest, arrived at Sarkis' home. His wife saw that one of the men had a gun and alerted her husband, who escaped by jumping out of a second story window.[10] The hit was reportedly ordered by Zannino.[1][permanent dead link] In 1979, he was shot in the shoulder by a masked gunman who entered his home through a bedroom window.[10]
References[edit]
- ^ a b Davidson, Bill (November 6, 1967). "The Mafia: How It Bleeds New England". The Boston Post. Retrieved 7 March 2024.
- ^ "E. H. S. Athletes Receive Awards". The Boston Globe. June 19, 1929.
- ^ a b c d e "Abraham Sarkis, contractor, convicted bookmaker; at 77". The Boston Globe. June 8, 1991.
- ^ "Invalid, 73, Carried Out at Roxbury Fire; Man Cut". The Boston Globe. April 29, 1940.
- ^ "10 Face Gambling Charges After Arrests at Lynn Boxing Show". The Boston Globe. May 9, 1944.
- ^ "Crime Unit Asks Court Compel Four to Appear". The Boston Globe. June 22, 1955.
- ^ "23 Held, Cash Seized In 15 Gaming Raids". The Boston Globe. May 2, 1967.
- ^ United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary (1978). Department of Justice Budget Authorization: Hearings Before the Committee on the Judiciary.
- ^ Connolly, Richard (March 2, 1978). "Bookie Sarkis is indicted on 2 gun counts". The Boston Globe.
- ^ a b c "Bookie survives attempt on life". The Boston Globe. August 20, 1979.
- ^ "Gambling suspect, in court, encounters an old adversary". The Boston Globe. August 8, 1980.
- ^ Sheehan, Alan (August 22, 1980). "Sarkis charge dropped; judge cites delay". The Boston Globe.
- ^ Hammond, James (September 26, 1980). "Sarkis, Zannino Among 39 Indicted on Gambling Charges". The Boston Globe.
- ^ Walker, Adrian (June 13, 1990). "40 charged with illegal gambling operation". The Boston Globe.