Reputed Delco mob chief pleads guilty

Nicholas "Nicky the Hat" Cimino, the reputed leader of a mob-linked bookmaking and gambling operation in Delaware County, pleaded guilty yesterday to a series of gambling, conspiracy, and money-laundering charges stemming from a state police investigation dubbed "Operation Delco Nostra."

Cimino, 49, of Wallingford, was one of 17 defendants arrested in July. The investigation was built around secretly recorded conversations and informant testimony.

Described as a major bookmaker in Delaware County with suspected ties to reputed South Philadelphia mob boss Joseph "Uncle Joe" Ligambi, Cimino was sentenced to 11 1/2 to 23 months in the Delaware County prison. He is scheduled to surrender Wednesday.

He also was fined $5,000 and forfeited $100,000 seized at the time of his arrest. Among other things, authorities alleged that Cimino ran a casino from the basement of an office building on MacDade Boulevard in Folsom.

Dressed in a dark-blue pin-stripe suit and black mock turtleneck, Cimino stood with his hands behind his back and offered terse "yes, Your Honor" and "no, Your Honor" answers to questions from Common Pleas Court Judge Frank T. Hazel during yesterday's hearing in Media.

Cimino, a divorced father of five, pleaded guilty to eight of 19 counts detailed in a grand jury presentment, including being part of a corrupt organization. He also pleaded guilty to conspiracy, gambling, and money-laundering charges.

He is the second defendant to plead guilty in the case. Daniel Diedrich pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor gambling offense several months ago.

The other defendants are scheduled for trial March 9 in Media, although several reportedly are working on possible plea deals.

The case has attracted the interest of federal authorities because of the alleged mob ties that state police uncovered.

Authorities allege that Cimino and other gambling operatives in Delaware County were paying a kickback to South Philadelphia mob figures and also relying on the mob to collect gambling debts.

One defendant in the case, Louis "Bent Finger Lou" Monacello, 41, has been described as a close associate of jailed mobster George Borgesi, who allegedly was the mob's point man in Delaware County.

Borgesi, who is serving a 14-year sentence on racketeering charges, appointed Monacello to oversee his interests there, authorities allege.

Borgesi is Ligambi's nephew.

Monacello faces gambling and obstruction-of-justice charges in Delaware County. He also has been charged with attempted aggravated assault for allegedly plotting the beating of another South Philadelphia mob figure.

That case, which grew out of the Delaware County investigation, is pending in Common Pleas Court in Philadelphia.

The charges against Monacello are based in part on secretly recorded conversations made by Frank "Frankie the Fixer" DiGiacomo, an alleged Monacello associate who cooperated with the state police and wore a body wire during several meetings with Monacello and others.