Lucchese mobster sentenced to 21 months for $25 million illegal gambling racket

Lucchese mobster sentenced to 21 months for $25 million illegal gambling racket

  July 11, 2025    Dapper_Don

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That’s a La Cosa No-No-stra.

A mobster was sentenced Wednesday for running an illegal online betting operation that netted nearly $25 million over the past 25 years, according to federal prosecutors.

US District Judge Kiyo Matsumoto gave Anthony Villani, a reputed Lucchese crime family soldier, 21 months in the slammer for his involvement in the racket, officials said.

Villani, a 60-year-old resident of Elmsford, pleaded guilty earlier in the year to racketeering, money laundering and illegal gambling.

The captain owned Rhino Sports, an online business employing Mafia figures as local bookmakers.

The operation, which was based in the Bronx and Westchester county, took in at least $1 million annually from thousands of gamblers, federal prosecutors said.

Villani recruited and employed “trusted associates” to help him manage the illegal gambling outfit, officials said.

He also extorted someone between October 2019 and October 2020, threatening them over $300,000 they stole from Rhino Sports, according to prosecutors.

“I’m not going to repeat myself. I’m not going to ever say this again. We’re just going to have a problem if I find out. Alright? And I don’t want to threaten you with my friends or anything, I’m not gonna, you put me in a f—–g hole with this guy,” Villani reportedly warned on April 27, 2020.

“Listen, get the f—–g money. I’m telling you right now, you don’t get this money – f—–g run away,” he said, according to prosecutors. “Go get this f—–g money,” Villani demanded months later, prosecutors said.

The man on the receiving end of the threats believed Villani or other members of the Lucchese crime family would physically hurt or kill him if he did not repay the debt.

The case was investigated by the Eastern District of New York’s Organized Crime and Gangs Section.

https://nypost.com/2025/07/09/us-news/lucchese-captain-anthony-villani-sentenced-for-illegal-gambling-racket/

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Lucchese soldier facing 20 years in prison as he agrees to $4M forfeiture in plea deal

Lucchese soldier facing 20 years in prison as he agrees to $4M forfeiture in plea deal

  January 31, 2025    Dapper_Don

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Five Mafia members and associates have pleaded guilty to racketeering, money laundering and gambling charges for running an illegal betting operation in New York City, according to prosecutors.

The Lucchese organized crime family figures admitted to running a large-scale gambling enterprise that prosecutors say brought millions in illicit profits annually.

Among them was Anthony Villani, a Lucchese soldier who agreed to a plea deal Thursday in which he’ll pay $4 million in forfeiture, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office for the Eastern District of New York.

Prosecutors said that since the early 2000s, the 60-year-old Elmsford resident owned and operated Rhino Sports, an online business that also employed Mafia figures as local bookmakers to pay and collect winnings.

They said the operation was concentrated in the Bronx and nearby Westchester County, took bets from roughly 400 to 1,300 individuals each week and collected at least $1 million annually.

“Illegal gambling businesses require enforcement and protection from mob rivals that carry the persistent threat of violence,” John Durham, U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York, said in a statement. “However, the defendants’ luck ran out and, thanks to the hard work of the team of prosecutors and investigators, they will be held accountable for their crimes and pay their debt to society.”

Prosecutors say Villani faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted. His lawyer didn’t immediately respond to an email seeking comment Friday.

Four others pleaded guilty in recent days to federal charges related to the scheme, according to prosecutors. A sixth defendant remains at large. 

https://apnews.com/article/mafia-bronx-lucchese-gambling-racketeering-f7facab0c427cc28b4eaa1a62d302744

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Lucchese mobsters busted for running 15 year old online illegal gambling ring

Lucchese mobsters busted for running 15 year old online illegal gambling ring

  September 14, 2022    Dapper_Don

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Five men face federal charges for allegedly running an illegal gambling ring for over 15 years with the protection of the Lucchese crime family, prosecutors announced Wednesday.

Lucchese crime family soldier Anthony Villani, 57, of Elmsford, and associates Louis “Tooch” Tucci, Jr., 59, of Tuckahoe, Dennis Filizzola, 58, of Cortland Manor, and James “Quick” Coumoutsos, 59, of the Bronx, were arrested at their residences in the New York for allegedly overseeing and operating a large-scale illegal, online gambling business under the protection of the Lucchese organized crime family. They are due to be arraigned before the federal court in Brooklyn on Sept. 14.

A fifth defendant, 44-year-old bookmaker Michael “Platinum” Praino, was arrested in West Palm Beach, Florida. Though he is a Bronx resident, Praino will make his initial appearance in federal court in West Palm Beach on Sept. 15.

“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 Lucchese crime family,” stated United States Attorney Breon Peace. “These charges illustrate this Office’s continued commitment to rooting La Cosa Nostra out of New York.” 

According to court documents, Villani allegedly oversaw a large-scale illegal gambling business called Rhino Sports, which was in business from at least 2004 through December 2020. During this time, the business was allegedly hosted online using offshore servers in Costa Rica and employed local bookmakers to pay and collect winnings in cash.  

Records from the Rhino Sports website allegedly indicated that Villani’s gambling operation 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, and the bookmakers allegedly regularly included members and associates of the Lucchese crime family and other La Cosa Nostra families.

Charges say that Villani allegedly employed Tucci and Filizzola as runners to assist in operating the business and received over $1 million annually from the business. Law enforcement searches in December 2020 allegedly uncovered $407,000 in cash from one of Villani’s residences, as well as brass knuckles and gambling ledgers.

Villani has been charged with racketeering in connection with the alleged participation in various criminal schemes, including illegal gambling, money laundering and attempted extortion. Regarding the money laundering charge, Villani and Filizzola allegedly used gambling proceeds to U.S. Postal Service money orders disguised as rent payments to a property owned by Villani. For the extortion charge, Villani allegedly attempted to extort an individual identified as John Doe between April and October 2020, telling him “I’m telling you right now, you don’t get this money – [expletive] run away.” 

“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 Lucchese 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,” stated Assistant Director-in-Charge Michael J. Driscoll.

https://www.amny.com/police-fire/new-york-mobsters-illegal-online-gambling-ring/

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Judge scolds Genovese soldier for attending Bronx wake packed with mobsters

Judge scolds Genovese soldier for attending Bronx wake packed with mobsters

  June 19, 2013    Dapper_Don

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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. Prosecutors argued this was a violation of Bernardone’s $750,000 bail agreement. A judge scolded him, but did not revoke the bail. Bernardone is awaiting trial on a racketeering rap.

A reputed GENOVESE gangster indicted for racketeering was caught dead to rights in violation of his $750,000 bail — he was photographed hanging out at a Bronx funeral home packed with mobsters, authorities said.

But a judge gave the alleged wiseguy an earful, only to let the bail agreement stand.
Camera-toting FBI agents snapped photos of James Bernardone at a wake last March that was a Mafia who’s who and was attended by more than two dozen members of the Genovese and Lucchese crime families, including Lucchese boss Steven Crea, authorities said.
Bernardone claimed he was simply paying his respects to the deceased father of longtime neighborhood friends. But Assistant U.S. Attorney Jacquelyn Kasulis said the 45-minute visit amounted to a “flagrant” violation of a court order not to associate with mobsters.
Brooklyn Federal Judge Nicholas Garaufis agreed that Bernardone could have paid his respects more quickly.
“A 45-minute visit means you either sat in a chair in the room with the coffin and prayed — or talked to people (you shouldn’t be talking to),” Garaufis said Wednesday.
The wake was for Anthony Villani, Sr., whose son Anthony, Jr., is a reputed Lucchese soldier, according to the prosecutor.
“Wakes and funerals are a fertile environment for the discussion of activities of organized crime,” Garaufis noted.
After delivering a tongue-lashing, the judge declined to revoke Bernardone’s bail and toss him in jail for the 45-minute lapse in judgment.
Bernardone, 46, the business agent for Local 124 of the International Union of Journeymen and Allied Trades, is awaiting trial on charges of conspiring to extort a subcontractor on construction projects in Queens and Manhattan.

http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/mob-wake-trouble-wiseguy-bail-article-1.1377401#ixzz2WimC0PWH

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