Retired Springfield Bookmaker Chicky Cecchetelli Sentenced To Time Served

David (Chicky) Cecchetelli, 54—reputedly a retired bookmaker associated with the Genovese family’s Springfield crew—was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Patti B. Saris to time served (approximately 62 days in prison) and one year of supervised release to be served in home confinement with electronic monitoring.

David (Chicky) Cecchetelli
David (Chicky) Cecchetelli



The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts announced the sentencing yesterday.

In December 2021, Cecchetelli pleaded guilty to one count of being a felon in possession of ammunition.

During a search of Cecchetelli’s residence on Dec. 5, 2019, law enforcement found a gun and ammunition in Cecchetelli’s bedroom. The ammunition was concealed under his mattress. Cecchetelli is a known associate of the Genovese LCN in Springfield and was previously convicted of bookmaking with the underboss of the Springfield LCN in 2005. Due to his prior conviction, Cecchetelli is prohibited from possessing firearms and ammunition.

United States Attorney Rachael S. Rollins; James Ferguson, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives, Boston Field Division; and New Bedford Police Chief Joseph C. Cordeiro made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorney Laura J. Kaplan of Rollins’ Organized Crime & Gang Unit prosecuted the case.

As was noted previously, the trouble came early one morning in December 2019, when over 500 Federal, state, and local law enforcement officers raided the Latin Kings in the Northeast United States, arresting more than 60 members and associates of the criminal organization and executing 31 search warrants at 24 locations.

The arrests included Chicky Cecchetelli and nephew Michael Cecchetelli, who together shared an apartment in Springfield, Massachusetts.

Michael reputedly is part of the East Coast and Massachusetts leadership of the Almighty Latin Kings and Queen Nation, the organization's full name. Michael Cecchetelli oversaw operations spanning from Massachusetts to Florida, according to Joseph Bonavolonta, head of the FBI's Boston office.

In April, Michael Cecchetelli, a/k/a King Merlin, 42, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to conduct enterprise affairs through a pattern of racketeering activity. He faces up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of $250,000.

While Chicky Cecchetelli has no apparent ties to the Latin Kings beyond having some of the same blood in his veins as his roommate, King Merlin, he reputedly has longstanding ties to the Genovese family’s Springfield crew. Years back, he also served eight months in Federal prison for bookmaking.

Thanks to that unusual arrangement (it's one that we haven't witnessed very frequently) involving a mobster uncle and gangbanger nephew sharing an apartment, as further detailed below, Chicky was indicted in April 2020 for being a convicted felon who possessed guns and ammunition, both of which were found when law enforcement conducted a search related to the Latin King bust of King Merlin.

As per court filings, prior to December 2019, the government commenced a probe that included a focus on Michael for allegedly being the East Coast Regional Overseer of the Latin Kings. Through surveillance and cell phone records, the government determined that Michael lived at 126 Firglade Avenue with his uncle, David. The two shared an apartment in a colonial house. Chicky Cecchetelli slept in the bedroom (which had a lock on the door), and Michael slept in the dining room(?). The two shared a kitchen, bathroom, and living room and paid rent separately to the landlord.

On December 2, 2019, the government applied for a search warrant of 126 Firglade Avenue to recover evidence related to Michael’s involvement with the Latin Kings. Magistrate Judge Marianne Bowler issued a warrant later that day, authorizing the government to search “all rooms, crawl spaces, storage areas, and any containers such as safes, vaults, file cabinets, drawers, luggage, briefcases, valises, boxes, jewelry boxes, cans, bags, purses, and trash cans” and “all areas commonly accessible to the tenants of 126 Firglade, including hallways, basements, attic spaces, storage spaces, driveway, garage, front yard, back yard, and curtilage of the property” for such evidence.

Officers executed the search warrant at around 4:00 a.m. on December 5, 2019. After announcing their presence and entering the property, they observed David Cecchetelli emerging from the bedroom and Michael emerging from the rear of the apartment. Both men were wearing only boxers.

Officers arrested Michael pursuant to the warrant. At his request, the officers retrieved his sweatpants, a shirt, and sneakers from the dining room before transporting him to an FBI location for booking.

David Cecchetelli was informed of the search warrant and remained seated on a sofa in the living room. He chatted with some of the officers, eventually asking them if they could retrieve his glasses, sneakers, and a shirt, which he told them were located “right there by [his] bureau in there.”

Big mistake! When those cops searched that room, they found on said bureau, hiding behind a table fan, a loaded firearm with five rounds of ammunition. They also found an additional four rounds of ammunition under the bed.

Previously, in 2005, following an investigation into a bookkeeping operation involving Genovese crime family members, Cecchetelli pled guilty to Gaming Conspiracy in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 371 and Conducting an Illegal Gambling Business in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1955, crimes punishable by a term of imprisonment of more than one year. He received an eight-month sentence.

Because of that prior felony conviction, officers arrested Chicky in December 2019 and charged him with being a felon in possession of ammunition in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1).



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