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21 months behind bars
United States District Judge Kiyo A. Matsumoto has sentenced Anthony Villani, a captain of the Lucchese crime family, to 21 months in prison for a racketeering scheme including money laundering and running an illegal online gambling operation. The online gambling platform, Rhino Sports, operated from the early 2000s for nearly two decades.
The verdict was announced by United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York Joseph Nocella Jr. and Assistant Director in Charge for the FBI Christopher G. Raia.
a prison term is a bitter outcome for mobsters who show no regard for the law”
Attorney Nocella said: “Today’s sentence holds Villani accountable for racketeering crimes committed on behalf of the Luchese organized crime family, while lining the enterprise’s coffers and his own pockets with millions of dollars. Illegal gambling and extortion may be commonplace for the Mafia, but a prison term is a bitter outcome for mobsters who show no regard for the law.”
Gambling site tied to Lucchese family
Most of the charges against Villaini relate to the operations of the Rhino Sports online gambling platform. The site had servers in Costa Rica and held an offshore gambling license, making it illegal to offer betting to US customers.
Customers placing sports wagers in New York must use sites licensed by the New York State Gaming Commission. Currently, the state is home to eight legal online sportsbooks after Resorts World Bet left the state in June.
made $35m in profit during its operation
The offshore sportsbook was live from 2004 until December 2020 and reportedly made $35m in profit during its operation. A part of Villani’s sentencing requires him to pay $4m in forfeitures.
While the site was an online operation, much of the business was generated in person by local bookmakers, who collected money and paid out winnings in cash to local players. Villani received a percentage of each bookmaker’s winnings.
Villani managed the site’s bookmakers with the help of Dennis Filizzola and Louis Tucci Jr. These two are defendants in the case along with two other bookmakers, Michael Praino and James Coumoutsos. Coumoutsos operated under the name “Quick,” while Praino worked under “Platinum.” The four defendants have pleaded guilty and are waiting for sentencing.
Lucchese captain also faces extortion charges
More charges were brought against Villani for his extortion of a person referred to as John Doe in court documents. The alleged person failed to make payments of around $300,000 to Rhino Sports, after which Villani made several threats from October 2019 to October 2020.
On October 10, 2020, Villani said: “Listen, get the f—–g money. I’m telling you right now, you don’t get this money – f—–g run away. Go get this f—–g money.”
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