An 81-year-old man who was convicted in the 1972 murder of a nephew of notorious mob boss Carlo Gambino has pleaded not guilty to drug charges in Wyoming.
Henry Sentner of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, entered the written plea through his public defender on Friday in District Court. A judge didn’t immediately set a trial date.
Sentner has been charged with possession of marijuana with intent to deliver and felony marijuana possession. He is currently free on $3,000 cash bail.
Henry Sentner, 81 (left), who convicted in the 1970s killing of a nephew of notorious mob boss Carlo Gambino (right) has pleaded not guilty to drug charges in Wyoming. The shooting stemmed from an apparent quarrel over gambling debt
He was pulled over on September 24 on a highway in southeast Wyoming for speeding.
Charging documents say about 35 pounds (16 kilograms) of marijuana was found in his vehicle.
District Attorney Jeremiah Sandburg said Sentner’s ‘colorful’ past includes a 15-year prison sentence for the 1972 killing of Emanuel Gambino.
‘In the time that I’ve both lived here and been district attorney, this is kind of unique to have somebody of this seasoned, as it were, to still be engaged in this conduct at his age,’ Sandburg said in an interview.
According to New York Times stories published in the early 1970s, Sentner told federal authorities that he accidentally killed Gambino in May 1972 with a gunshot to the head in a deserted area in New Jersey for which Sentner spent 15 year in prison.
The shooting stemmed from an apparent quarrel over gambling debts and then led to an attempt by Sentner and two others to extort money from Gambino’s wife.
Gambino’s body was eventually recovered from a shallow grave months later.
In 1974, there was a report that Sentner had been hospitalized after being given cocoa laced with strychnine while he was federal detention for questioning in another case.
According to New York Times stories published in the early 1970s, Sentner (pictured) told federal authorities that he accidentally killed Emanuel Gambino in May 1972 with a gunshot to the head in a deserted area in New Jersey. He served 15 years in prison for the murder
Reports from Sentner’s sentencing noted that his attorney voiced fear of ‘mob vengeance’ against Sentner and requested that Sentner serve his sentence at a prison in Alabama.
Sandburg said he doubted there were any parole conditions still in effect for Sentner stemming from the Gambino killing.
There has been no indication of any current mob connection involving Sentner, he added.
The US Attorney’s Office in Wyoming had no information about Sentner’s latest run in with the law, according to office spokesman Mark Trimble.