Illegal Sports Betting

Peter Gotti’s attorney says the former mobster is about to meet his maker

1. Sports gambling might be illegal in a lot of states in the United States, but it is allowed in many other countries around the world. The people in these countries simply love to gamble which is probably why the industry is so big. Certain experts claim that the industry is worth at least $100 billion globally.
2. It has been over a year-and-a-half since the United States Supreme Court delivered a landmark decision to strike down the federal ban on sports gambling that prohibited betting on sports in most.
3. The law doesn’t say anything about betting online on sports, but merely stipulates that it is illegal for banks to transfer money gained from illegal betting. The express purpose of the law was to target those who own and operate online sportsbook on US soil, not the bettors who partake in online betting.

Former Gambino mob boss, Peter Gotti, is looking to get sprung from his 25-year jail sentence early. His lawyer wants the 80-year-old out of jail before he meets his maker.

A reputed wiseguy nicknamed “Tony Meatballs” is among more than a dirty dozen alleged South Philly mobsters charged in a sweeping federal indictment unsealed Monday.

The law doesn’t say anything about betting online on sports, but merely stipulates that it is illegal for banks to transfer money gained from illegal betting. The express purpose of the law was to target those who own and operate online sportsbook on US soil, not the bettors who partake in online betting.

The suspects are accused of everything from illegal sports betting to heroin-peddling to offering loans at 400 percent interest — not to mention plotting to kidnap and possibly murder a drug dealer to save their reputations after the guy sold them fake narcotics.

Anthony “Tony Meatballs’’ Gifoli, 72, was named in the superseding grand-jury indictment along with others including accused La Cosa Nostra underboss Steven “Stevie’’ Mazzone and alleged capo Domenic “Mr. Hopkins’’ Grande, the feds said.

Underlings targeted by the indictment include Louis “Louie Sheep’’ Barretta, Joseph “Joey Electric” Servidio and Daniel “Harry” Castelli, the FBI said.

The crime syndicate has been working from Philadelphia to Atlantic City, NJ, the feds said — as they laid out the Mafia hierarchy in court documents, as well as offered definitions for related key terms.

Federal officials said that unlike New York City, where several crime families have ruled over the years, Philadelphia and its surrounding area has been continuously under siege from the same single Mafia family since 1931.

The court documents only identified the family’s current “street boss’’ by the initials “M.L’’ The street boss can serve in place of the boss when the higher-up is “incapacitated due to imprisonment,’’ the papers said.

The Philly crime family’s consigliere — “typically an older, experienced mobster who counsels [the boss] on important issues’’ — was ID’d by the initials “J.L.’’

The feds described in the papers how “made men,’’ or “soldiers,’’ in a Mafia crime family must be of 100 percent Italian ancestry and vow at a secret initiation ceremony to “burn in Hell if I betray my friends.” If they turn “rat’’ and break “Omerta,’’ or the mob “Code of Silence,” they can be killed.

Illegal Sports Betting Revenue

Meanwhile, mob “associates’’ are not “made men’’ because they either haven’t been initiated yet or they lack full Italian heritage, the papers explained.

In terms of Mazzone’s alleged group, they schemed in places including the now-defunct Broadway Theatrical Club in South Philadelphia, an Italian restaurant in Collingswood, NJ, and a cafe and lounge in Margate, NJ, according to court documents.

The seven-count indictment against the men includes charges of racketeering conspiracy, extortion, illegal gambling and narcotics distribution.

About half of the defendants are already behind bars.

An original indictment in the case was filed in January 2019 against four of the suspects, with the latest one adding more defendants and charges.

“The charges unsealed today against these 15 alleged members and associates of the Philadelphia La Cosa Nostra show that the mafia remains a criminal presence in our city and beyond,” said Michael Driscoll, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Philadelphia Division, in a statement.

“From loansharking and illegal gambling to drug trafficking and extortion, the mob continues to keep its fingers in many different pots, in its ceaseless quest for illegal profits.

“This group should’ve learned by now that the FBI is as committed to eradicating organized crime as wiseguys are to embracing it.”

US Attorney William McSwain added, “The Philadelphia mob isn’t what it used to be, and thank God for that.

“But it is still a problem and is still allegedly committing serious federal crimes, which is why we at the Department of Justice are focused on stamping it out. We will not rest until the mob is nothing but a bad memory.”

CHICAGO (CBS) — An Orland Park man pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court Tuesday to running an illegal sports gambling business and laundering the proceeds.

Vincent Delgiudice, 55 – also known as Uncle Mick – was charged in a federal case last year along with Casey Urlacher, the brother of former Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher. Casey Urlacher, who had pleaded not guilty, was granted a full pardon by President Donald Trump last month.

Delguidice pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering – which is punishable by up to 20 years in federal prison, and one count of conducting an illegal gambling business, which is punishable by up to five years, prosecutors said.

Prosecutors said Delgiudice paid a Costa Rica-based company more than $10,000 a month for the website unclemicksports.com, which was used for the accounting, betting, record-keeping, and logistics of the gambling operation between 2016 and 2019. The bookmaking operation operated in Chicago, Lemont, Frankfort, Orland Park, and Woodridge, prosecutors said.

Sports Betting Sites

Delgiudice accepted wagers on both professional and amateur sporting events from up to 1,000 gamblers, the U.S. Attorney’s office said last year. He communicated with representatives of the sports book through an anonymous end-to-end encrypted messaging application, prosecutors said.

Delgiudice recruited gamblers for the business and set them up with accounts on Uncle Mick Sports website, prosecutors said. He collected and paid out money in cash to those gamblers, prosecutors said last year.

Sports Betting Odds

When the feds raided Delgiudice’s Orland Park home last year, court records revealed they found more than $1 million in cash – along with silver bars, jewelry, and gold coins worth more than $441,000.

Illegal Sports Betting Ring

Urlacher was one of eight defendants whom Delgiudice allegedly recruited to work as agents for the gambling operation. They recruited sub-agents and gamblers for the business in exchange for a commission drawn from the gamblers’ losses, prosecutors said.

Chicago Police Officer Nicholas Stella was also among those defendants.

Casey Urlacher is also mayor of the far north Illinois suburban village of Mettawa.

Illegal Sports Betting Penalties

In 2016, Casey Urlacher ran for the Republican nomination for the 26th District Illinois State Senate seat, but lost to Dan McConchie, who went on to win the general election.

Is Online Sports Betting Illegal

Also From CBS Chicago: