BIG BOXING PURSES LURE MOB, PANEL TOLD

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, April 2, 1993                   TAG: 9304020116
SECTION: SPORTS                    PAGE: B7   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: WASHINGTON                                LENGTH: Medium
BIG BOXING PURSES LURE MOB, PANEL TOLD
Organized crime is moving deeper into boxing, drawn not by the chance to fix fights but to siphon off shares in enormous purses, the former underboss of New York's Gambino mob family told senators Thursday.
"Because the size of purses has gotten so big over the past 20 years, organized crime is more and more interested in getting back into it," Salvatore "Sammy the Bull" Gravano said.
Gravano, flanked by five federal bodyguards, appeared in a natty gray double-breasted suit as the leadoff witness in a Senate hearing on corruption in fighting.
Police and explosives-sniffing dogs patrolled the halls for the appearance of Gravano who gave up his oath of silence to help convict New York's dapper don, John Gotti, boss of the Gambino family.
It was the latest in a series of hearings on boxing corruption to be held by the Senate permanent subcommittee on investigations.
Gravano, who admitted involvement in 19 killings, regaled spectators with wry answers to questions. Asked if the government could do anything to keep mobsters out of boxing, he answered: "Make the purses very small."
He was also asked what would happen to a fighter who tried to walk away from a deal with organized crime handlers. "Traditionally, we give them a hard time," he said. "We're not very fond of walking away."
But for all the spectacle of the hearing, Gravano confessed that he was not deeply involved in boxing in his mob days.
He did say that organized crime has little interest in fixing fights and making money by betting on the predetermined outcome. He said a better way was to carve shares out of million-dollar purses.
One figure singled out by Gravano as associated with organized crime was Alfred Certissimo, who under the name Al Certo manages former WBC welterweight champion Buddy McGirt. McGirt lost his title March 6.
Certo, who was in the room when Gravano made the charge, later took the witness chair and angrily denied the charge.
With his voice rising and his lawyers patting him gently on the back to calm him, Certo blasted Gravano. "He's the gangster here. He's the one who knows everything. I've never seen this guy around boxing in my life."
"Gambino, gamschmino," he yelled. "I've never heard of these guys."

by Bhavesh Jinadra by CNB