Published on: October 24, 2025, at 03:53h.
Updated on: October 24, 2025, at 03:53h.
- Key figures in New Jersey’s Mafia prosecuted, associated with Richie “The Boot” Boiardo
- Pioneer director of New Jersey’s Division of Gaming Enforcement
- Transformed Foxwoods into America’s top-earning casino
G. Michael Brown, a pivotal figure in dismantling the Mafia in New Jersey as a state prosecutor and gaming regulator before his leadership at Foxwoods Resort Casino, has passed away at the age of 82, according to The New York Times.
In 1979, Brown played a crucial role in neutralizing the Mafia in New Jersey, successfully building a case against Ruggiero “Richie the Boot” Boiardo, a prominent figure in the Genovese crime family who had dominated the Newark and New Jersey underworld for many years.
Though the then-89-year-old Boiardo never faced trial due to his age and declining health, Brown led the prosecution of four high-ranking members of his organization: Anthony DeVingo, Andrew Gerardo, Angelo Sica, and James Vito Montemarano.
The 35-count indictment accused the individuals of conspiracy to run a criminal syndicate involved in extortion, loansharking, illegal gambling, armed robbery, and fraud.
Gaming Industry Watchdog
Earlier in 1978, while serving as deputy director of operations for the New Jersey Division of Criminal Justice, Brown was the leading trial counsel in the state’s inaugural casino license application hearing – for Resorts International.
Brown cautioned the company that it needed to demonstrate that its connections to organized crime were fully severed after raising concerns regarding alleged prior ties to the Mafia.
In 1980, he was appointed as the first director of the newly established New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement (DGE), an entity dedicated to safeguarding the state’s nascent casino industry from Mafia influence.
Brown departed from the division in 1982 to pursue private legal practice, having overseen the opening of seven casinos in Atlantic City.
In 1993, he took on the roles of general counsel and founding chairman of the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Gaming Commission, along with being president of the tribe’s Foxwoods Resort in Connecticut. Brown successfully negotiated a gaming compact with the state, permitting the casino to offer slot machines and securing a $60 million loan from Genting International for expansion efforts.
The Ascendancy of Foxwoods
Under his leadership, Foxwoods became the largest and most profitable casino in the United States at the time. Richard “Skip” Hayward, then-chairman of the Mashantucket Pequot tribe, praised him as “the finest chief executive officer in the gaming industry.”
However, Brown resigned unexpectedly in 1998, reportedly due to disagreements with tribal leadership. After a brief and unsuccessful venture as president and part owner of New York City’s first licensed gambling cruise ship, he served as president and CEO of the Seneca Niagara Resort & Casino in Niagara Falls, New York, until his retirement in 2006.
Brown’s daughter, Kristin Brown, informed The New York Times that he had been battling cancer. He is survived by two other daughters, a brother, and two grandchildren.