Syracuse Mafia Soldier Sam Farrar

He was a soldier in the Magaddino Family with roots deep in Syracuse’s Little Italy, a local gambler who somehow always seemed to slip the net. Sammy Farrar may not be a household name, but for nearly five decades, his fingerprints were all over the rackets — from shady social clubs to million-dollar construction fraud. And yet, outside of law enforcement files, few knew the full story… until now.

Samuel J. (Sammy) Farrar — Sam Farrar, Sam Farrari, Sam Ferrara, and Samuel Joseph Farrar (TN) — was born in the City of Syracuse, New York, on October 22, 1920. His father and mother — Vincenzo (Jimmy) Farrar and Antoinetta (nee’ Stagnita) — eventually had eight children together, three sons and five daughters.

Sam’s two older brothers were named Dominick Vincent and John Joseph. His sisters, in age order, were Geraldine, Lucy, Rosaria, Rose, and Josephine. The Farrars were a large brood.

Samuel J. Farrar

During their early years as children, the Farrar family resided and grew up within Syracuse’s heavily Italian-populated Third Ward District on the city’s Northside. In fact, the Farrar family home was located at 635 North Salina Street, long considered to be in the heart of the city’s historic “Little Italy” section. By 1940, the family had moved less than a half mile away, to 315 East Division Street. A year later, they moved a few blocks down the road to 235 Lilac Street.

North Saline Street — in the heart of Syracuse’s Little Italy.

234 Lilac Street, Syracuse

While growing up, the siblings were reportedly very close to one another. This was especially true between Sam and his older brothers Dominick and John, with whom he would later partner in the rackets. The boys were said to have stuck together through thick and thin.

The Farrar kids each attended Syracuse’s public school system, with Sammy reaching his first year of high school before deciding to permanently drop out in favor of seeking a job. Several years later, he listed his occupation as ‘architect’ on a government document.

World War II and Beyond

Samuel Farrar was described as 5 feet 4 inches in height, with a weight of approximately 147 pounds. He had a full head of medium-brown wavy hair, brown eyes, and a ruddy Mediterranean complexion.

On September 3, 1941, while World War II was in full swing, Sam enlisted in the United States Armed Forces. He joined the Army Air Corps. Farrar served his country honorably for over four years. He was honorably discharged on December 6, 1945, only months after the Allied Forces had finally won the war. It appears that our boy Sam had been a very conscientious soldier.

After the war ended, Sam returned home. He soon began dating a young local woman from the neighborhood named Mary Stasko. Not long afterwards, Sam and Mary decided to get married. It is reported that they had one child together. Still, no information is available whatsoever regarding the baby’s gender or any other background information, suggesting the child may have died in infancy.

After they got hitched, Sam and Mary initially rented a small apartment for themselves in the same neighborhood as Sam’s parents. By the mid-1950s, they had relocated a few blocks away and were now residing at 915 North McBride Street.

915 North McBride Street, Syracuse

By the early 1960s, they had relocated to 127 Burnel Avenue. It was around this same time that Sammy decided to enter the restaurant business. He opened up the Brooklyn Seafood Restaurant. It was located right down the block from the Farrar family home at 660-62 North Salina Street, in the heart of Little Italy.

But his new business venture didn’t pan out as well as he expected. A year or so later, the apartment building housing the restaurant caught fire, destroying the restaurant as well as the entire four-story building structure. Fire marshals later estimated the fire damage at nearly $100,000. Fire Department investigators later stated that the fire started between the cushions of a booth in the restaurant.

The FBI later said that they suspected it was an arson job committed by Farrar and several mob associates to collect money from the restaurant’s fire insurance policy. They also believed that Farrar had a secret partner in the business, a Utica-based mafioso by the name of Rosario Mancuso .

The Falcone Regime

By the early to mid-1950s, Samuel Farrar had come to the attention of local law enforcement officials. By at least the mid-to-late 1950s, it appears that the federal authorities had also taken a keen interest in Farrar — specifically, special agents of the FBI working out of the Bureau’s Albany Office.

It is believed that Farrar first came into the crosshairs of the Federal Bureau of Investigation due to his constant close association with what was arguably the most important and widely publicized Mafia faction active within the cities of Utica and Syracuse in upstate New York.

Salvatore Falcone

The Mafia’s so-called “Falcone Regime” — headquartered in Utica and originally led by the notorious Salvatore (Don Turiddo) Falcone — was widely considered to be the most potent underworld network in Central New York State.

In fact, according to mob lore, before the historic agreement was reached between various Italian gangs to all join hands in 1931, Salvatore Falcone was believed to have been an old-fashioned “Don” in his own right and the “Capo Famiglia” of his very own Mafia Family.

That reportedly all changed in 1931 when the three most powerful Italian underworld organizations entrenched on American soil blended together, joining hands to form one monolithic organization. Originally separate and distinct groups, led by Sicilians, Napolitani, and Calabrese, respectively, they amalgamated to become what we know today as Cosa Nostra.

"Don" Turiddo Falcone

As part of this “new” order, dozens and dozens of smaller Italian borgatas and factions that had previously operated autonomously were assigned by the Mafia’s Commission to merge with larger Families located throughout the United States.

Thereafter, Salvatore Falcone and the "Family" he headed were absorbed by the Family headquartered in Buffalo-Niagara Falls, New York, headed by the legendary Stefano Magaddino . The former Falcone ‘Family’ then became but a single — if huge — regime, within the larger Magaddino Family.

Stefano Magaddino

Salvatore Falcone himself remained as the head of the Utica faction. But, thereafter, technically speaking, he was formally only ranked as a “Capodecina” — subservient to Magaddino — as opposed to being a full-fledged Family ‘boss’ which he had once been.

Nonetheless, as a former boss in his own right, Sal Falcone was still treated with great respect. And mafiosi who were really in the know — from Magaddino, right on down the line — were said to have afforded Falcone an even greater respect than was typically given to that of a capodecina.

The FBI Brings the Heat

In the years immediately following the infamous Apalachin Mafia Meeting, which took place on November 14, 1957, from approximately 1958 through the 1960s, the FBI would head up intensive investigations of the Mafia throughout the country. This included the underworld operation of Utica’s Falcone faction.

The government’s targets included not only Salvatore Falcone but also his brother, Joseph. Soon, the probe was expanded to include all known and suspected members of their crew operating within the City of Utica and its neighboring territories, including the cities of Rome and Syracuse.

Joseph Falcone

In time, this intense strategy paid off, enabling FBI agents to compile an extensive list of all those men considered to be Falcone crew members as well as their associates.

When they got around to probing organized crime operations in the City of Syracuse, the FBI determined that the Falcone brothers and a close associate of theirs by the name of Anthony (Tony Whispers) DeStefano were the leading Cosa Nostra figures in that section of the Empire State.

As mentioned, federal agents also compiled a list of those hoodlums considered to be inducted soldiers and associates of the Syracuse faction . Through repeated surveillance and the use of police informants, Samuel Joseph Farrar was identified as a “soldier” serving within the Syracuse faction of the Falcone regime. This was despite the fact that Farrar actually resided in Syracuse and largely operated within that city and its outer territories, which were considered to be under the purview of Magaddino Family capo Anthony DeStefano.

Anthony DeStefano

But through further investigation, it was revealed that although DeStefano was considered a capo in his own right, he was still considered a "Johnny-come-lately" within the overall Magaddino Family hierarchy. That said, Sal and Joe Falcone had dated back many decades, before the 1920s, as the two top mafiosi who long ruled over this territory.

In fact, at one time, it was thought the Falcones had actually ruled over both cities on behalf of Buffalo-Niagara Falls boss Stefano (The Old Man) Magaddino, who was considered the overall Cosa Nostra boss for the entire Upstate New York area.

By the mid-1960s — around 1965, or so — Magaddino was believed to have installed Tony DeStefano as Syracuse’s “resident” capo. However, because Joe Falcone was the more senior leader, DeStefano was thought to still seek counsel and obtain Falcone’s approval in certain matters.

A Documented Soldier

The following FBI internal memo, known as #302 reports, lays out the suspected membership and pecking order of the Falcone regime during the mid-1960s era. It reads as follows: “By the 1960s, Salvatore Falcone, who was once considered the “Capodecina” of this regime, had since semi-retired from the rackets and had relocated down to Miami, Florida. But he is still consulted by his brother Joe and members of their crew on important matters.”

So, the FBI still considered Salvatore to be a ‘senior’ consigliere-type figure within the Utica faction. This same 302 report, generated by the FBI’s Albany Office, then named the following individuals as the known membership of the Magaddino "Family" of LCN.

As the current resident “capodecina” in charge of Utica — and by extension, Syracuse — was Joseph Falcone. Former boss Salvatore Falcone was listed as semi-retired and living in Miami Beach, Florida, but was still serving as the Utica faction’s senior advisor.

Rosario Mancuso

The following crew members — all of whom were identified by the FBI as “inducted” soldiers — were named as follows; Sylvester Battaglia (based in Albany), Angelo Conte (Utica), Anthony Damiano (Miami, FL), Anthony F. Falange (Utica), Samuel J. Farrar (Syracuse), Vincenzo Femia (Utica), James Fiore (Boston, MA), Serafino Grio (Utica), Rosario Mancuso (Utica), John Melito (Utica), Frank Pelli (Utica), Frank Russo (Rome), Angelo Thomas (Utica), and brothers, Anthony Scro, Charles Scro and Joseph Scro, all of whom resided in Syracuse.

In addition to this inducted core membership, through the years, Button Guys has also researched and identified numerous other affiliates of the Falcone Regime, listed as “associates” of the faction. These “associates” — both close associates and part-time — numbered well into the hundreds.

Syracuse Rackets

For his part in all this, it had been well documented that Sammy Farrar started to get his feet wet in the rackets by at least 1949. But he probably got started a few years earlier, probably shortly after returning home from the war.

We know this because in late 1950, he was picked up by the local police for illegal gambling activities. This incident was Sammy’s first publicly listed arrest.

Syracuse on the map.

As mentioned, among Farrar’s closest associates, subordinates, and partners through the years have included his two brothers, Dominick and John. Another was Frank P. Mucci, described as a bookmaker, subordinate, and Sammy’s right-hand man. Others included such close subordinates in his gambling operations as Angelo Pernasilice, James (Jimmy the Brute) Sampere, Armand DiMatteo, Frank Matzo, Thomas Rupp, Alexander L. Pandozzi, and Vincent Calogero, who Sammy depended on for gambling collections and for any strong-arm work that was needed.

By the 1970s, another key subordinate was Anthony J. Gianni, with whom Sammy went partners with in a construction company that later figured into a major fraud and embezzlement scheme that Farrar and Gianni orchestrated.

Dating back to Sammy’s early criminal activities, on October 7, 1950, the Syracuse Police Department’s Vice Squad raided the Genesee Billiard Parlor, located at 124 E. Genesee Street, and discovered a lively poker game going full swing in a backroom of the building.

Farrar was arrested and charged with “maintaining a gambling establishment” as the operator of the game.

Three of his associates were also picked up and arrested during the raid. They were identified as Angelo Pernasilice, Frank Matzo, and Thomas Rupp.

Caught dead to rights, Farrar later pled guilty and paid a small fine.

Full Steam Ahead

It seems from that day forward, Sammy went full steam ahead and never looked back. Because over the next 45 years, he would continue to operate as a full-fledged gambler and hoodlum and suffer through all the investigations, arrests, and convictions his lifestyle would bring.

Three years later, on February 21, 1954, he was one of seven men arrested after police conducted another early morning raid on a gambling den Farrar was then operating at the All-Nite Restaurant, a small eatery located at 279 James Street.

At 1:30 a.m., police officers forced their way into a backroom where a card game was in progress. They found six men sitting around a card table playing stud poker with a pile of money in the center of the table.

At his arraignment, the Assistant District Attorney informed the judge that the vice squad had identified Sam Farrar as the operator of the game.

Then, only three days later, on February 24th, Sam got arrested again for gambling, along with one of his key assistants, Angelo Pernasilice, after police raided 201 Pearl Street, where Farrar was operating a gambling den.

One week later, on March 3, 1954, Farrar and Pernasilice both pleaded guilty before Police Court Judge Leo P. Dorsey. Farrar was fined $100 on his conviction for permitting gambling in his establishment. Pernasilice paid a fine of $10 for acting as a lookout for the gambling den.

Sammy Farrar seems to have gotten luckier for the rest of the decade, at least in terms of not being personally arrested for gambling. But his brother, Dominick, more than made up for it.

And by the early 1960s, both Farrar brothers were back in the soup again and making front-page headlines in all the local newspapers.

Tough Break for the Cops

On June 22, 1961, Syracuse detectives staged a surprise raid at Soymac Club, a private social club located at 124 E. Genesee Street. As they entered the second-floor apartment, they found Sammy’s brother Dominick and James (Jimmy the Brute) Sampere sitting around a kitchen table, answering several telephones and taking bets.

The two gamblers were caught dead to rights. Sitting on the table in front of them were 53 betting slips listing horse and baseball bets, a master tally sheet with even more customers and recorded bets, pens and pencils, and a calculator.

When officers searched the suspects, Dominick was found with a whopping $2,795 in his pockets. Sampere was found with another $512 in cash.

Police identified Dominick Farrar as the operator of the Soymac Social Club. They said he was also listed as the owner of record for the Genesee Billiard Parlor, located on the first floor of the same building. A police spokesman later said “Soymac” was an abbreviation for the Syracuse and Onondaga Young Men's Athletic Club, which the Farrars used as a “blind” for their gambling business.

Another business Dominick was connected to was Casual Fashions, a successful clothing company that he owned and operated for many years. Dom was obviously a very savvy “business-oriented” hoodlum.

Farrar and Sampere were both booked on charges of bookmaking and possession of gambling records and then released on bail.

Both men later pleaded guilty to a charge of bookmaking, were placed on probation, and paid fines.

Here We Go Again

One year later, almost to the day, police zeroed in on the Farrar brothers once again.

On June 15, 1962, coordinating the operation by walkie-talkies, the vice squad, augmented by a team of city detectives, staged another surprise gambling raid on a private social club the Farrar brothers ran. Known as the Central City Veterans Club, located at 733 N. Salina Street, a full-blown, multifaceted gambling operation was operating from that location.

Once they gained entry inside the club, police officers confiscated card tables, decks of playing cards, and various other gambling paraphernalia, as well as horse racing tout sheets and 65 hand-written betting slips which recorded 125 horse bets at various racetracks. They also confiscated nearly $1,000 in cash, including marked money provided by the police, which was used in the blackjack game.

At the time of the raid, 21 men found gambling inside the club were taken into custody. All the gamblers were hauled back to police headquarters for further questioning. After a lengthy interrogation, the cops chose to release 11 of them, and then arrested nine others for promoting gambling. The twenty-first suspect was held for a longer period as a material witness.

Dominick Farrar was one of those charged with promoting gambling and operating an illegal gambling establishment. The others arrested included James Sampere, Peter Rinaldi, and Richard T. Segreti.

Aside from Farrar and the others nabbed during the raid, a police spokesman said they were also searching for two additional unnamed gambling suspects. Those two mystery men — hearing through the grapevine they were being sought by the police — later turned themselves in and were charged with gambling offenses.

The unnamed men turned out to be Dom’s younger brother, 41-year-old Sammy Farrar, and another Syracuse gambler, 30-year-old Alfred A. (Fritzy) Gentile. Each of the men arrested was considered a well-known gambler — or “KG” — in police jargon.

Just one day later, after reviewing all the evidence presented to him, the local prosecutor handling the gambling case decided that there was not enough solid evidence to gain convictions. So, much to the chagrin of the frustrated Syracuse Police Department, the prosecutor immediately dismissed the entire case.

This gambling case was later resurrected. Indictments were drawn, and the following year the defendants went to trial. They were found guilty by the jury on March 19, 1963. The following month, on April 26th, the gamblers stood before City Court Judge Francis Moran for sentencing.

That morning, the jurist ordered Samuel Farrar, James Sampere, and Richard T. Secreti to each serve 30 days behind bars at the Onondaga County Penitentiary. He also ordered the gamblers to pay a fine of $250 each.

Defense attorneys for the defendants quickly appealed their convictions to the County Court and the Appellate Division of the New York State Supreme Court. That action was the start of an eight-month contentious legal battle. Defense lawyers immediately made formal applications to present the case before the State Court of Appeals. But, ultimately, eight months later, that October 10th, the Court of Appeals declined to revisit or hear the case.

The three defendants were then ordered to surrender themselves to police headquarters immediately. They were then directly transported by prison bus to the penitentiary to begin serving their jail terms.

Piling On

Relentless in their pursuit of Farrar, just six months later, on December 29, 1962, Dom got arrested once again on bookmaking charges. An associate of his by the name Armand DiMatteo was also charged as a bookmaker that afternoon.

At approximately 9 p.m. that evening, the vice squad entered Genesee Billiards and Luncheonette, at 268 James Street, climbed a staircase to a room on the second floor, and took both men into custody. At the time of the raid, police reported finding a total of $3,606. in cash on the suspects. DiMatteo had $725. on him, while Farrar had $2,875.

Police also confiscated gambling records, including sheets listing the point spreads of various games, hundreds of betting sheets, betting slips totaling thousands of dollars wagered, and other types of paraphernalia utilized in the bookmaking racket.

Authorities stated that at the time of the raid, this particular gambling operation was accepting bets on basketball, football, and other types of sports, including horse racing.

Both men were released on $500 bail apiece, for a later hearing on the charges.

The Feds Lend a Helping Hand

On April 5, 1963, local law enforcement officers conducted a raid on another illegal gambling den. Only this time around, it was a highly coordinated joint effort between city police and Federal agents.

Armed with a search warrant and intelligence accumulated through weeks of intensive surveillance, the raiders entered the Imperial Restaurant, located at 139 E. Water Street. Dom Farrar, Armand DiMatteo, and another local mob figure by the name of Julius Sardo were each charged with gambling.

This time around, the prosecutor handling the case was really playing hardball with Dominick and demanded that he serve jail time.

So that October, Farrar and the others decided to turn down the plea deal worked out between the defense lawyers and the prosecutor's office. The gamblers decided to take their chances and gamble on a jury trial of their peers.

They were convicted anyway.

The judge sentenced Dominick to serve 30 days in the county jail. Farrar was also fined $250.

Tax Stamps

Then, several months later — as Yogi Berra used to say — it was “deja vu all over again.”

On May 4, 1963, Dom got arrested with several others on illegal gambling charges for the umpteenth time. But this time around, the feds and tax agents stepped up to charge him with “failing to have a Federal Gamblers Tax Stamp.”

The arrests were the result of widespread gambling raids conducted by the Syracuse Intelligence Division of the IRS in cooperation with the Syracuse Police Department. Over the course of several weeks of surveillance during the investigation that led to the charges, IRS agents maintained a close watch on all the traffic entering and exiting the Farrars' residence.

The feds used several confidential informants to help them identify all the bettors who frequented Farrar’s club to place bets.

Ultimately, Farrar and two other well-known Syracuse gamblers, Albert (Allie) Casale and the aforementioned Armand DiMatteo, were arrested that month for failing to buy Federal Gambling Tax Excise Stamps.

Authorities said this was a follow-up investigation to a series of previous arrests made in April when police first raided Farrar’s billiard parlor. They said the case against Farrar arose from Treasury Agents' initial interest in Armand DiMatteo, who was repeatedly observed visiting the premises. DiMatteo now faced six federal gambling charges.

Side Note: At the time, as professional gamblers, a federal law had been enacted requiring all gamblers to “purchase” a tax stamp and to declare regularly what their annual gross gambling revenue was so that good olé Uncle Sam could extract his proper piece of the illegal pie.

The fact that illegal gambling rackets were, in fact, well, illegal, made absolutely no difference at all in the eyes of the Internal Revenue Service, which oversaw the collection of those gambling tax-stamp sales and the income revenue produced by them. As far as the U.S. Government was concerned, failing to register as a professional gambler who made his living by taking bets was tantamount to Federal income tax evasion.

But every bookmaker worth his salt knew damn well that it was a dangerous double-edged sword — a Catch-22, if you will — to register themselves. Although they would now comply with the IRS as far as paying their taxes went, operating a gambling business was still illegal in the eyes of the U.S. Justice Department and the vast majority of individual states as well.

So, by the gamblers exposing themselves in such a manner, they could only generate criminal investigations into their business affairs and ultimately lead to their arrests for operating illegal bookmaking, policy numbers, and other types of gambling businesses.

It was a 100% no-win situation if ever there was one! And all the wiseguys and “wiser” wiseguys knew better!

The 1970s and Beyond

By the 1970s, Sammy and his wife, Mary, had opened up what was to become a popular local eatery. Located on Erie Boulevard in Syracuse, Giovanni’s Restaurant was said to serve high-quality Southern Italian cuisine in an upscale setting.

Since Farrar had a police record as long as his arm, Mary had to apply to the SLA (New York State Liquor Authority) for the liquor license required to serve alcoholic beverages at their restaurant.

Giovanni's Restaurant

On August 4, 1972, Dominick was arrested again in a major gambling sweep in Syracuse. He was one of dozens charged. Authorities later reported that a coordinated team consisting of 108 cops and detectives was needed to track down and arrest all 63 gambling suspects. The arrests centered on the operation of two major mob-connected dice games, which were being conducted at the Dolphin Athletic Club, located at 1000 N. State Street, and the Italian-American Veterans Club, situated at 414 Pearl Street, both in Syracuse.

Among those arrested in the case were many known Syracuse-based gambling figures, including James (Jimmy the Brute) Sampere, John (Tops) Mandarino, Louis DeJohn, Joey DeJohn, Richard Segreti, Stanley Colella, Rudolph (Rudy) DeRubbo, and others.

Sixteen months later, on December 7, 1973, the FBI staged another coordinated raid on a private gambling club that offered its patrons high-stakes dice games. Dominick Farrar was arrested in this gambling sweep. But Sammy was believed to be the real behind-the-scenes backer of the game.

Then, just three months later, on March 25, 1974, Sammy is among 14 men arrested by the FBI for operating the dice games.

Side Note: Through the decades, Sammy had been arrested numerous times for gambling. Yet, for many years, Sammy reportedly only had one gambling charge that had ever stuck. That incident occurred back in 1963 when Farrar was arrested, and later convicted, of promoting gambling in Onondaga County.

It appears that throughout his underworld career Sammy had led a very charmed existence.

The Sun Shines, and Then it Doesn't

By the early 1990s, Sammy and Mary were residing in a modest ranch-style home they had purchased some years earlier, located at 4930 Yeaworth Drive, in the suburb of Manlius.

And by all outward appearances, life seemed to be treating Sammy extremely well. He was already in his early seventies and had seemingly navigated through the murky and often dangerous waters of the criminal underworld for almost half a century.

4930 Yeaworth Lane

Times were good. Besides the family home in Manlius, the Farrars also maintained a winter retreat down in Florida. Sammy was the hidden owner of a successful restaurant and a partner in the KF Construction Corporation, a profitable building company he controlled in partnership with another individual.

Sammy also still maintained a very profitable hand in local gambling and shylock rackets.

By the early 1990s, Sammy had also stumbled upon one of the most profitable illicit schemes he had ever been involved in. Sammy went partners in the construction business with an associate of his by the name of Tony Gianni. The partners opened a company they named the KF Construction Corp. Tony was the day-to-day operating partner. But Sammy was the behind-the-scenes ‘controlling’ partner whose say was final.

Joseph Marino (L) and Dominick Nesci (white jacket)

The company made money, and over time, they became involved in several larger construction projects. Ultimately, by utilizing his underworld connections in New York City and elsewhere, Sammy was able to strategically insert the KF Construction firm and himself in a somewhat complex mobbed-up scheme to defraud various upstate land developers and allied construction firms by falsely inflating various construction bids for building projects in several upstate New York communities.

Farrar became involved with several mob associates in New York who ran a construction management firm on Long Island. A kickback deal was subsequently worked out between Farrar and Gambino Family associates Domenick Nesci and Pasquale Santoro, who had been awarded subcontracts on the project. In furtherance of the scheme, Farrar also paid illegal kickbacks to construction company vice-president, Joseph Marino.

Pasquale Santoro

But, just as assuredly as the sun will rise and set tomorrow, by the very nature of this far-flung racket which involved mobsters from New York’s infamous Five Families, through gossip and police informants, word eventually reached the ears of the FBI who soon started an extensive probe into the allegations that had come to their attention.

The feds overturned every rock and looked inside every nook and cranny. The case came together during their investigation into the business practices of Karl Indivero, project manager of the Clay Construction Corp., who had been arrested on charges of defrauding a bank of $400,000 in a related check-kiting scheme.

Karl Indivero

Simultaneously with his arrest, Indivero immediately turned FBI informant. He then proceeded to spill his guts about mobster Sammy Farrar and his associates. He explained to the feds that he started betting with bookmakers connected to Farrar. But Indivero was an unlucky gambler and began losing heavily, falling behind on his payments to them. Farrar’s associates then started threatening him with violence to collect the gambling debts, which compelled Indivero to steal almost $400,000 from a local bank to satisfy his obligations.

Indivero also laid out all the juicy details of Farrar’s involvement in various construction racket schemes and about a project then underway at Seaway Plaza in the town of Waterloo.

The FBI learned that with the help of Indivero and a local attorney named John T. Papworth, Farrar and several others conspired to defraud the owners of Seaway Plaza — Charin Industries — out of more than $300,000 on the $1,840,000 construction project.

Papworth advised Farrar how to hide his investment in the construction firm in charge of the project and how to better structure cash transactions to avoid detection by the Internal Revenue Service.

Based on Indivero’s cooperation, the FBI also started looking into several other construction projects worth over $20 million that Indivero and his mob associates had been involved with including the 1989 expansion of The Pyramid Cos’ Hudson Valley Mall in Kingston, NY, and the 1990 construction of a Pizzeria Uno restaurant in Pyramid’s Carousel Mall in Syracuse.

On July 13, 1993, the Assistant U.S. Attorney’s Office finally announced the arrests of Samuel Farrar, Anthony Gianni, Frank Mucci and four others in a major federal indictment that involved construction industry payoffs, bank fraud, mail and wire fraud, labor union kickbacks, extorting $260,000 in cash from a developer working on a construction project in Seneca County, and money laundering, as well as operating illegal gambling and bookmaking rackets.

The Beginning of the End — In More Ways Than One

Sammy had been specifically indicted and charged with numerous federal counts of heading an illegal gambling business, criminal conspiracy, construction fraud, illegal kickbacks, and extortion.

But, fortunately for Sammy, this newest criminal case, which by the way was the most serious one he had ever faced in his life, was put on permanent hold.

However, unfortunately for Sammy, this became necessary due to the deterioration of his health, which had progressed significantly by this point.

In fact, Sammy’s long-term health prognosis and very survival were said to be very dicey at best. The gambler was now in the dice game of his life.

Farrar’s defense attorney informed the U.S. Attorney’s Office that Sammy was in dire health and needed immediate heart surgery. That his life depended on it.

The government made their own inquiry with Farrar’s doctors, who soon confirmed what they had been told. In fact, Farrar was actually in a V.A. Hospital at the time, receiving treatment for his condition.

So the G put Sammy’s case on the back burner and just proceeded without him, moving forward with the case against his codefendants, who were each later convicted on various racketeering counts at trial and later sentenced to serve jail terms in Federal Prison.

Ultimately, Sammy ended up beating this case. But unlike in previous years, this time around, he had to do it the hard way!

Side Note: During the investigation of local rackets, Sammy Farrar and other local underworld characters, Syracuse Police Officer John Stanek, a close buddy and associate of Farrar, was later fired from the Syracuse Police Department after he was brought up on departmental corruption charges and for consorting with known criminals.

Others who got tangled up in the federal dragnet included the aforementioned Syracuse attorney, John T. Papworth, who was accused of advising Farrar on how to evade detection by the IRS regarding the hiding and laundering of illegal cash profits. Papworth later pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to the felony of having defrauded the Internal Revenue Service. He was sentenced to two years' criminal probation, fined $10,000, and had his law license suspended for 11 months. Papworth was spared a prison term because he also became an informer and agreed to wear a wire and secretly record his conversations with Sammy for the FBI. He later tried convincing Appellate Division Judges in Rochester not to disbar him permanently.

The Farrar Finish Line

As mentioned, back in 1992, Sammy had suffered a stroke and was rushed to the Veterans Administration Medical Center for emergency treatment. Subsequently, he had to undergo open-heart bypass surgery to treat his medical condition. After the operation, Sammy remained in the hospital to receive long-term treatment for his recovery. But unfortunately, shortly afterwards, Farrar suffered another massive stroke. And this one proved fatal.

Sammy Joseph Farrar died on Wednesday, July 30, 1997. He was 76 years old.

At the time of his death, Sammy was still residing at his home on Yeaworth Drive in Manlius.

A one-day wake was held for him at the Farone & Son Funeral Home. The following morning, he was given a Mass of Christian Burial at the Farrar family parish, Sacred Heart R.C. Church. Farrar was then laid to rest in the Assumption Cemetery and Mausoleum, located nearby in Syracuse.

Sammy’s older brother Dominick had died several decades before him. Born in 1911, Dominick Vincent Farrar died on January 28, 1975. Dom was only 63 years old.

But the other Farrar brother, John Joseph Farrar, lived longer than both Sammy and Dominick. Born in 1919, John passed away in 2000 at the age of 81.

The family matriarch, Antoinette Stancato Stagnita, born in 1884, died in 1968. Antoinette was blessed with a full life, having reached the respectable old age of 84.

The Farrar sisters each fared accordingly; Geraldine (Mary) Farrar lived to 74; Lucy Farrar was 75; and Rosaria reached the age of 82. But their sister Josephine lived longer than any other member of their immediate family. Born in 1923, Josephine died in 2018 at the age of 95. The only sister not accounted for was Rose, whose dates of birth and death were not available at the time of this story.

Until next time...”The Other Guy”

Syracuse Mafia Soldier Sam Farrar

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