A Brooklyn-based unlawful on-line playing enterprise that was allegedly below the safety of the Lucchese Crime Household provided bettors “twisted buyer companies,” prosecutors clained Wednesday. Their coverage was, “Do what we are saying or face terrifying penalties.”
That’s in response to the US Legal professional’s Workplace for the Japanese District of New York. On Wednesday, it unsealed an indictment that charged 5 defendants for his or her roles in “Rhino Sports activities.”
This was a “price-per-head” bookmaking enterprise, allegedly overseen by a reputed Lucchese soldier, the aptly named Anthony Villani, 57.
Villani has a historical past of gambling-related arrests relationship again to 1988. In 2004, he went digital, in response to the indictment.
Rhino Sports activities ran for 16 years till 2020, and was utilized by round 400 to 1,300 gamblers per week, most of whom have been based mostly in New York Metropolis.
What’s Worth-Per-Head Bookmaking?
Unlawful playing and extortion are regular and dependable income turbines for the New York Mafia. However in recent times, the Mob has moved its conventional street-corner bookmaking operations on-line.
The “price-per-head” bookmaking mannequin usually entails agent-bookmakers who give clients usernames and passwords that allow them entry offshore web sites the place they’ll place bets.
No monetary transactions are made on-line. However particulars of bets are saved and tracked on the positioning. Many of those offshore websites are based mostly in Costa Rica, the place they’re authorized, and this was the case with the Rhino Sports activities website.
Collections and payouts are made in particular person, by the brokers. Indebted gamblers are sometimes “persuaded” to borrow cash at excessive curiosity from Mafia mortgage sharks to maintain playing.
Villani’s bookmaker-agents included members and associates of the Lucchese crime household and different La Cosa Nostra households, in response to prosecutors.
Additionally named within the indictment are Louis “Tooch” Tucci, Jr., 59, and Dennis Filizzola, 58, who labored as agent “muscle,” accumulating cash from clients.
James “Fast” Coumoutsos, 59. and Michael “Platinum” Praino, 44, are described in court docket paperwork as “vital bookmakers and moneymakers for the enterprise.”
Pandemic Pivot
In 2020, because the pandemic hit, the FBI wiretapped Villani. The reputed Lucchese made man was recorded discussing the concept od diversifying inro on line casino gaming as a substitute of sports activities betting at a time when most sports activities have been canceled.
Villani and his codefendants are charged with racketeering in reference to participation in varied prison schemes. These included unlawful playing, cash laundering, and tried extortion.
“As alleged, this conduct demonstrates how members of La Cosa Nostra proceed to interact in unlawful playing operations and cash laundering money-marking schemes that result in threats of violence in opposition to anybody who stands of their means and has resulted in hundreds of thousands of {dollars} in income to the Luchese crime household,” acknowledged US Legal professional Breon Peace.
“These prices illustrate this Workplace’s continued dedication to rooting La Cosa Nostra out of New York,” he added.