NEW YORK (Reuters) – Two members of a notorious New York crime family were found guilty on Friday of extorting hundreds of thousands of dollars from a Manhattan strip club.

A federal jury in Manhattan found Salvatore “Fat Sal” Scala, [pictured] 64, an accused Gambino crime family captain, and Thomas “Monk” Sassano, 61, reportedly a soldier in Scala’s crew, guilty of extortion and conspiracy to commit extortion.

Scala was also found guilty on four charges of tax evasion.

During the trial, prosecutors said the men used the VIP Club, a Manhattan strip joint, as a training ground for the next generation of mobsters.

Scala extorted thousands of dollars every week from the club, and threw lavish parties there without paying, prosecutors said. Sassano was brought in to do Scala’s bidding after Scala was sent to prison on a separate extortion charge, prosecutors said.

Scala’s lawyer said his client was a legitimate investor in the club.

The verdict came on the second day of jury deliberations. Scala, who has liver cancer, is diabetic and suffers from a heart condition, faces a maximum of 60 years in prison. Sassano faces 40 years.

No sentencing date has been set.

“It’s just stunning that the overwhelming presentation in this case was about organized crime and not about the specific conduct charged in this case,” said Sassano’s lawyer, Ronald Rubenstein.