Anthony Megale

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Anthony Megale (August 1, 1953 – July 21, 2015), nicknamed “The Genius,” was a member of the Gambino crime family who operated mainly in southwest Connecticut from Stamford. He was born in Italy and moved to Connecticut as a young man, starting a family there.

Megale rose in the Gambino family, eventually serving as a caporegime for Connecticut operations and later as acting underboss. He faced several prison terms: a 1982 narcotics conviction, a 1990 racketeering plea that led to a six-year sentence, and parole in 1995. He returned to prison in 1998 for 11 months on a parole violation. In 2001 he became a caporegime for Connecticut, and in 2002 he began extorting businessman Harry Farrington, owner of two Fairfield County strip clubs, as part of territory protection demands. Farrington helped authorities by recording meetings, leading to a Connecticut indictment on 38 extortion charges in 2004. Megale pleaded guilty to lesser charges in 2005 and received an 86-month sentence in 2006, with a separate late-2006 New York case adding more time. He served his sentence at Allenwood Federal Prison and was released in December 2014. Megale died on July 21, 2015, after a heart attack in Stamford.