Wednesday 14 September 2022 10:56 PM Lucchese soldier and five associates are charged in illegal gambling operation trends now
Alleged Lucchese mafia soldier and five of his associates are facing multiple racketeering charges after operating an online gambling business to take millions in illegal sports bets.
An indictment unsealed in Brooklyn federal court on Tuesday revealed that the gambling business 'Rhino Sports' used an offshore website and dozens of bookmakers in the New York area for the multi-million dollar scheme.
Anthony Villani, 57, of Elmsford, New York, oversaw the large-scale operation that was in business from at least 2004 through December 2020, the indictment states. He is alleged to have received more than $1 million annually from the business.
Villani, and three of his associates, Louis 'Tooch' Tucci, Jr., 59, of Tuckahoe, Dennis Filizzola, 58, of Cortlandt Manor, and James Coumoutsos, 59, of the Bronx, were arrested at their New York homes.
A fourth associate, Michael 'Platinum' Praino, 44, of the Bronx, who acted as the bookmaker or 'bookie,' was arrested in West Palm Beach, Florida and will appear in federal court on Thursday in West Palm Beach, Florida. A fifth associate has not yet been named.
Alleged Lucchese mafia soldier Anthony Villani meets with members of the family administration in May 2020. Villani and five of his associates are now facing multiple racketeering charges after operating an online gambling business
During the more than 15 years that the operation was in business, it operated online using offshore servers in Costa Rica and employed local bookmakers to pay and collect winnings in cash, according to the indictment.
Records obtained from the business' website indicated that Villani's illegal gambling operation regularly took bets from between 400 and 1,300 bettors each week, most of whom were based in New York City area.
Villani's bookmakers regularly included members and associates of the Lucchese crime family and other La Cosa Nostra families, it was alleged.
As part of the scheme, Villani employed co-conspirators Louis Tucci, Jr. and Dennis Filizzola, as runners to assist him.
During searches in December 2020, agents recovered over $407,000 in cash from one of Villani's homes, along with brass knuckles and gambling ledgers.
The unsealed indictment has charged Villani with racketeering in connection with participation in various criminal schemes, including illegal gambling, money laundering and attempted extortion.
Reputed Genovese family wiseguy James Bernardone (right) was photographed by the FBI as he talked to reputed Genovese associate James Coumoutsos outside of a funeral home where a mob wake was being held in 2013
