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A former Long Island detective, Hector Rosario, 51, was convicted of lying to the FBI on Wednesday for his involvement with the Bonanno crime family. He was acquitted of a more serious obstruction of justice charge. The verdict followed a seven-day trial in Brooklyn federal court.
Rosario, a 15-year veteran of the Nassau County police force, was accused of protecting the family’s gambling operations and even staging a fake police raid on a rival Genovese family’s gambling den. This sparked a “mini-mob war” between the two families, who had previously agreed to share profits from a gelato shop that fronted a gambling operation.
Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly condemned Rosario’s actions, stating he prioritized personal gain and mafia loyalty over his duty to the law. She criticized his betrayal of fellow officers and his dishonesty with federal agents.
U.S. Attorney John Durham echoed these sentiments, labeling Rosario a “corrupt detective.”
Rosario’s defense team argued that the prosecution’s case relied heavily on testimony from cooperating witnesses with questionable credibility.
Rosario was fired from the force in 2022 as part of a larger bust involving nine individuals connected to the gambling ring. He was interviewed by the FBI in 2020 during an investigation into Bonanno and Genovese family activities, at which time he denied any knowledge of the mafia or illegal gambling.