NEW HAVEN, Conn. (AP) – A reputed Mafia captain whose failed shakedown of a Stamford strip club owner touched off a mob power struggle and provided the FBI a rare look into the workings of the Gambino crime family was spared prison time Wednesday.

Ignazio “Iggy” Alogna, 72, of Pocono Lake, Pa., faced a range of 18 months to two years in prison but could have received up to 20 years for attempted extortion. A judge sentenced him to six months house arrest and three years probation after Alogna said he was a down-on-his-luck retiree and the only caregiver for his 12-year-old grandson, Anthony.

FBI wiretap transcripts and federal court documents describe a much bolder man than the Social Security recipient who limped to the court lectern Wednesday.

U.S. District Court Judge Janet Bond Arterton scolded Alogna for not respecting the law at his age but said she could not justify leaving the child without a caregiver.

“It’s a sad irony that keeps you out of prison, Mr. Alogna,” Arterton said. “But now you have the biggest responsibility of your life because you and you alone are going to raise Anthony. Just do it well.”

Alogna and four others marched into a strip club in 2002 and demanded they be paid monthly protection payments. Wearing a wire, club owner Harry Farrington captured on tape a bitter dispute between Alogna and Anthony “The Genius” Megale, who prosecutors say is the state’s highest ranking Gambino member.

“Iggy, what’s Iggy doing down there?” Megale said, according to FBI transcripts. “That’s why I’m here. I wanna know why. What is he doing in Stamford when I’m there? Ain’t he supposed to come check with me?”

Megale identifies himself on tape as being the underboss, or No. 2 man, in the family. Alogna allegedly is a capo, or captain, in the same family. Megale explained on tape that Alogna’s demand for money had not been approved – a particularly offensive affront because Alogna used muscle from Providence.

“Everything you do, you’re supposed to put on record, especially when you do things with other families,” Megale told Farrington.

Megale was so upset by Alogna’s power grab that he threatened to demote him to the rank of soldier, according to the transcripts. Megale then told Farrington he should ignore Alogna and make monthly protection payments to him.

Alogna’s had asked for leniency because the extortion failed but prosecutors objected and Arterton rejected the argument.

The conversations recorded during that power struggle helped the FBI understand the hierarchy of the Mafia in Connecticut and became the cornerstone of an investigation that prosecutors said became the most significant assault on the region’s Italian Mafia in more than a decade.

Megale, Alogna and many others were arrested last year after a three-year investigation. All, including Megale, have pleaded guilty and avoided having the tapes played at trial. Some transcripts were released this week.

Megale is due to be sentenced in December on racketeering and conspiracy charges.