He "Accidentally" Killed Carlo Gambino's Nephew and Was Arrested for It

Henry Sentner, of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, was pulled over on Interstate 80 in southeast Wyoming by a state trooper for speeding.

Sentner was hauling 35 pounds of marijuana.
Henry Sentner served 15 years for the murder.

He would've been lucky to get off with a speeding ticket, turns out. Ol' Sentner wasn't alone in the vehicle. He was hauling 35 pounds of marijuana.

Why do I write about this, you ask? The article -- attributed to the Associated Press -- makes the following claim about Senter:

He was convicted in the 1970s killing of a nephew of notorious mob boss Carlo Gambino -- and this week he was arrested in Wyoming on drug charges.




Sentner is charged with possession of marijuana with intent to deliver, felony marijuana possession and speeding. Sentner was released Wednesday after posting $3,000 cash bail. Circuit Judge Thomas Lee on Wednesday scheduled Sentner's next court hearing for Oct. 6 and set terms of his bond.

"I'll be there," Sentner, who appeared via video link from the county jail, said.


According to New York Times stories published in the early 1970s, Sentner told federal authorities that he accidentally killed Gambino in May 1972 with a gunshot to the head in a deserted area in New Jersey. The shooting stemmed from an apparent quarrel over gambling debts and then led to an attempt by Sentner and two others to extort money from Gambino's wife.

Gambino's body was eventually recovered from a shallow grave months later.

In 1974, there was a report that Sentner had been hospitalized after being given cocoa laced with strychnine while he was federal detention for questioning in another case. Reports from Sentner's sentencing noted that his attorney voiced fear of "mob vengeance" against Sentner and requested that Sentner serve his sentence at a prison in Alabama.

District Attorney Jeremiah Sandburg said he has no information about how many years Sentner was in prison and he doubted that there were any parole conditions still in effect for Sentner stemming from the Gambino killing.

And there's been no indication of any current mob connection involving Sentner, he said.


Sentner's arrest, first reported by the Wyoming Tribune Eagle, happened after he was stopped about 12:15 p.m. Sunday in a rental car for speeding.

The trooper found "implausible" the story Sentner relayed about his trip across the country from California.

"I observed repeated deceptive behavioral responses in response to simple questions," the officer wrote.

In addition, a check of Sentner's criminal history resulted in "extensive felony behavior," according to the affidavit.

Was Jimmy McBratney killed for nothing?

The U.S. Attorney's Office in Wyoming had no information about Sentner's latest run-in with the law, according to office spokesman Mark Trimble.

Sandburg said Sentner's "colorful" past includes a 15-year prison sentence for the 1972 killing of Emanuel Gambino.

"In the time that I've both lived here and been district attorney, this is kind of unique to have somebody of this seasoned, as it were, to still be engaged in this conduct at his age," Sandburg said in an interview.


Historically, James McBratney (November 17, 1941 – May 22, 1973, of Staten Island, New York), an alleged Irish American gangster, was believed to have been involved in the 1972 kidnapping of Emanuel "Manny" Gambino (nephew of Carlo Gambino) -- as well as two other Mafia members.

Manny Gambino was abducted in 1973 and murdered. 

The family's -- meaning the Gambinos -- intelligence network determined that a stick-up man, James McBratney, had been one of the kidnappers. 

According to investigators and informers, John Gotti was handed the assignment of exacting revenge.

McBratney was shot dead outside a Staten Island bar in an ambush by three men. Witnesses picked out two of the men, Gotti and Angelo Ruggiero.

Gotti was arrested in 1974 after evading capture for a year.

Carlo Gambino hired Roy M. Cohn -- a man considered a scumbag by friend and foe alike.-- to represent Gotti and Ruggiero. Although both defendants had been indicted on murder charges and identified by witnesses, Cohn negotiated a remarkable deal with the Staten Island district attorney's office.

 In exchange for reduced charges of attempted manslaughter, Gotti and Ruggiero pleaded guilty, and each received a prison term of four years.



Gotti spent the term lifting weights. He was taken from prison in upstate New York for visits to his new home in Howard Beach, Queens, and to restaurants in New York City, where he met with friends. State investigators later determined that prison authorities and guards had been bribed.

In 1976, while Gotti was still in prison, Carlo Gambino died.

Paroled in 1977, Gotti left prison a muscular, barrel-chested, broad-shouldered figure, 5 feet 10 inches tall and weighing about 200 pounds.

Returning to the city, he was promoted by Aniello "Neil" Dellacroce to full-fledged capo of the Bergin crew.


Developing -- we are working on a followup to this story......






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