Feds: East Hartford Man With Ties To Mobster-Type Activity Sentenced For Goodfellas-Style Fire

EAST HARTFORD, CT - An East Hartford man with ties to mobster-like activity was given a prison term of nearly six years for gambling, extortion and a Goodfellas-type fire in Middletown, federal authorities said.

Deirdre Daly, United States attorney for the District of Connecticut, said Thursday that that John Barile, 52, of East Hartford, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Alvin W. Thompson in Hartford to 71 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, for arson, insurance fraud, gambling and extortion offenses.

According to court documents and statements made in court, Barile was a co-owner of Enzo’s Restaurant and Lounge, which was located on Main Street in Middletown.

By 2009, Enzo’s was facing financial difficulty, and Barile began planning a fire at there in order to collect the insurance proceeds, Daly said.

In November 2009, Barile informed a co-owner about the plan and began "consulting with others on how to start the fire to make it look like an accident," Daly said.

On the evening of Jan. 9, 2010, Barile had conversations with others at Enzo’s about having a fire set the next morning.

Barile placed greasy rags in the kitchen around the fryolators and applied grease to the kitchen walls, Daly said. .

Later in the evening, after the restaurant had closed, a fire began in the kitchen, Daly said.

Barile was aware that a fire was burning in the kitchen, but rather than extinguishing the fire, he transferred the fire to one or more of the greasy rags, then intentionally allowed the fire to burn, Daly said.

He did not alert the fire department or anyone else about the fire and then left the restaurant, Daly said. The co-owner was inside Enzo’s at the time of the fire, and two individuals were inside a restaurant next door, Daly said.

The Middletown Fire Department arrived a short time later, forced entry, rescued the co-owner and put out the fire, Daly said. By the time the fire was put out, it had already caused "significant" damage to the restaurant, Daly said.

After the fire, Barile sought insurance payments for the losses and was compensated $189,787, Daly said.

From at least 2010 through approximately January 2014, Barile also conducted an "illegal sports-related bookmaking operation," Daly said.

This illegal gambling business involved at least five other people including sub-bookmakers, Daly said.

At times, the gambling business grossed more than $2,000 per day and one patron ran up a debt of $50,000, Daly said.

On Nov. 8, 2011, Barile, along with two associates, met the bettor at a parking lot in Hartford and Tased him as punishment, Daly said.

As part of his sentence, Barile was ordered to pay restitution to the insurance company for the exact amount opaid to him, according to authorities.

Barile was ordered to forfeit $165,287 that the government seized from bank account in November 2012 pursuant to a civil seizure warrant, Daly said.

On Feb. 4, 2016, Barile pleaded guilty to one count of arson, one count of mail fraud, one count of conducting an illegal gambling business and one count of collecting an extension of credit by extortionate means.

Barile has been under electronic monitoring on a $350,000 bond and is to report to prison on July 12, Daly said.

According to court documents, Barile was convicted in 1997 for conspiring to violate the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act and contempt of court stemming from his involvement in an organized crime-controlled illegal gambling business.