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WESTCHESTER COUNTY, NY — Three Westchester residents are among five men accused by federal prosecutors of overseeing and operating a large-scale illegal, online gambling business under the protection of the Luchese organized crime family.
Anthony Villani of Elmsford and associates Louis Tucci, Jr. of Tuckahoe and Dennis Filizzola of Cortlandt Manor, as well as James Coumoutsos of the Bronx, were arrested at their homes Wednesday. Michael Praino of the Bronx was arrested in West Palm Beach, Florida.
All were scheduled to be arraigned before federal judges Wednesday or Thursday.
Prosecutors alleged that for more than 15 years, their gambling business, called Rhino Sports, used an offshore website and dozens of bookmakers in the New York area to take millions in illegal sports bets. They alleged that Villani is a soldier in the Luchese crime family.
Breon Peace, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York and Michael J. Driscoll, Assistant Director-in-Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office, announced the charges.
“As alleged, this conduct demonstrates how members of La Cosa Nostra continue to engage in illegal gambling operations and money laundering money-marking schemes that lead to threats of violence against anyone who stands in their way and has resulted in millions of dollars in profits to the Luchese crime family,” Peace said.
Prosecutors alleged that Villani, 57, oversaw Rhino Sports, which operated from at least 2004 through December 2020. It was hosted online using offshore servers in Costa Rica and employed local bookmakers to pay and collect winnings in cash. It regularly took bets from between 400 and 1,300 bettors each week, most of whom were based in New York City and the metropolitan area.
They alleged that Tucci, 59, and Filizzola, 58, were employed as runners to help operate the business, while the bookmakers regularly included members and associates of the Luchese crime family and other La Cosa Nostra families.
During law enforcement searches, agents recovered over $407,000 in cash from one of Villani’s residences at 122 Town Green Drive in Elmsford, as well as jewelry, brass knuckles and gambling ledgers, prosecutors said. The feds also seized $55,542 from 2 Consulate Drive in Tuckahoe and $21,412 from 8 Pinehurst Court in Cortlandt Manor.
They alleged that Villani received more than $1 million annually from the business.
The unsealed indictment covers charges of racketeering in connection with participation in various criminal schemes, including illegal gambling, money laundering and attempted extortion.
As one part of the money laundering, Villani and Filizzola used gambling proceeds to purchase U.S. Postal Service money orders disguised as rent payments to a property owned by Villani, prosecutors alleged.
The defendants did some of their conspiring in Pelham and Bronxville and also at a pizzeria in the Bronx, according to the indictment.
Peace thanked the New York City Police Department, New York State Police, and the Westchester County Police for their assistance in the investigation.
Driscoll said members of the mafia are not giving up the tried and true methods of criminal behavior, even in the face of the burgeoning world of legal gambling.
“As we allege, a Luchese soldier and other family members ran an illegal gambling operation and offered their clientele the same twisted customer service: do what they say or face terrifying consequences. One thing these criminals can bet on – the FBI will continue our pursuit,” he said.
Peace also described the DOJ’s long-term goal: “These charges illustrate this Office’s continued commitment to rooting La Cosa Nostra out of New York.”
The article 3 Westchester Men Among 5 Charged In Mob-Linked Gambling Ring appeared first on Peekskill-Cortlandt Patch.