Son of deceased mobster charged in gambling investigation
The son of a deceased West Virginia mobster has been charged in connection with a multimillion-dollar bookmaking ring.Christopher Hankish, 44, of Scott, was charged with gambling conspiracy. He is the son of Paul Hankish, a Wheeling, W.Va., native who died in prison in 1998 while serving time for a racketeering and gambling conviction. Christopher Hankish was charged Friday. He declined comment. Investigators with the Pennsylvania State Police and the state Attorney General’s Office said they came across Hankish while looking into gambling activity involving former video poker kingpin John Conley. 
Investigators said Conley handled more than $3 million in bets in late 2005, some involving Hankish. Conley has not been charged, but was sentenced in May to four years in federal prison for violating his probation by placing sports bets over the phone last year. During a February hearing in federal court, Paul Marraway, a state agent, said Conley “spoke to every bookie we’re aware of in Allegheny County.” Conley had been released in January 2004 after serving nine years in prison on a gambling conviction.