| abstract | - Born Lenine Strollo he came up through the ranks of the Pittsburgh family along with fellow mobster Joey Naples with whom he first operated in Tandem before going to Youngstown, Ohio. Strollo was a cousin of powerful New York mobster Anthony Strollo, known as "Tony Bender". In 1990, Strollo was convicted on gambling charges and sentenced to 14 months in prison. He feared that Naples would take over his rackets. On August 19, 1991, Naples was killed in a mob hit in Youngstown by a sniper shot from a long distance away with a high-powered rifle. Strollo then became the boss of the Pittsburgh families Mahoning Valley rackets. It is unknown if Pittsburgh boss Michael James Genovese sanctioned the hit on Naples or not. Strollo became a force in the Youngstown area rackets. He ran bookmaking, poker machines, narcotics trafficking and vending machine rackets aided by his brother Dante. He had local officials in his back-pocket and was involved in kick back schemes in local government projects. He even bribed a local prosecutor to ensure he wouldn't be investigated or imprisoned. When a new prosecutor, Paul Gains was elected Strollo put out a hit on him and in 1996, Gains was shot several times but survived the attempt on his life. In 1997, Strollo and his crew were indicted on racketeering and murder charges. By 1999, both Strollo and his brother Dante decided to become government witnesses and exposed how corrupt the Mahoning Valley government really was and his influence over them. However, Strollo only testified against local cops and mobsters he dealt with and not against the hierarchy of the Pittsburgh crime family. His current status is unknown.
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