News

December 9, 2008

Sarno and Son owners seeking $7.5M in damages

Racketeering suit against trio charged with taking hundreds of pieces of formal wear.

By Terrie Morgan-Besecker tmorgan@timesleader.com
Law & Order Reporter
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SCRANTON – The owners of Sarno and Son Formal Wear have filed a civil racketeering lawsuit against three men charged with stealing hundreds of pieces of formal wear, alleging the trio and two others engaged in a six-year criminal enterprise that cost the firm more than $2.5 million.

The suit, filed Friday in federal court, alleges Robert Riviello, one of the defendants, stole from the company and used Sarno and Son’s delivery trucks to transport illegal gambling proceeds he accumulated through an alleged bookmaking business.

Riviello, 39, of Moosic, and co-defendants Michael J. Pantano, 42, of Wilkes-Barre, and John Vermack, 45, of Lake Ariel, were charged earlier this year by Lackawanna County authorities with stealing tuxedos and other items from Sarno’s distribution center.

Pantano and Riviello are accused of stealing $121,830 in merchandise, while Vermack is accused of taking about $50,000 in goods. The cases are pending in Lackawanna County Court.

The suit, filed by Mark Sarno and his sister, Nancy Sarno-De Los Rios, claims the actual amount of the theft is much higher. It seeks to recover triple the amount of the loss, or $7.5 million, under the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, or RICO.

Attorney Kurt Lynott, who represents Riviello in the criminal case, said Monday he had not seen the civil suit and could not comment on the bookmaking allegations leveled against Riviello.

In addition to Pantano, Riviello and Vermack, the suit names as defendants Pantano’s wife, Elizabeth, and Ryan Rowinski, the owner of Tuxedo Junction of King of Prussia, along with their associated businesses. Rowinski and Elizabeth Pantano have not been charged criminally.

According to the suit, Vermack headed Sarno’s shipping department for 22 years, which gave him unfettered access to the company’s inventory.

Beginning around 2003, Vermack conspired with Riviello and Michael Pantano to steal various types of formal wear. The stolen items were then sold or rented by Riviello at his stores, Tuxedo Junction in Dickson City and Metallo’s Formal Wear in Wilkes-Barre; by Michael Pantano, who operated Tuxedo Junction in Hanover Township and Sarno and Son in Wilkes-Barre, which he purchased from the Sarnos in 2002, and by Rowinski, who operated Tuxedo Junction of King of Prussia.

The suit alleges Vermack participated in the scheme, in part, because he was a gambler who placed bets with Riviello, who the suit alleges ran an illegal sports betting operation.

The Sarnos contend Vermack was pressured into participating in the thefts due to his gambling activities. They allege he also accepted bribes totaling hundreds of dollars a week.

The suit says the activities of the defendants violate several federal criminal statutes, including wire fraud, mail fraud and interstate transportation of stolen property, commercial bribery and theft by extortion.

Terrie Morgan-Besecker, a Times Leader staff writer, may be reached at 570-829-7179.

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