Members of New York City’s famous “Five Families” are known by many names: smart kids, good guys, friends of ours. At least a dozen men with alleged mob ties can now add a new nickname to the mix: defendants in a federal investigation dubbed “Operation Royal Flush.”
The sprawling illegal gambling case announced by federal officials this week names 34 defendants in total, including a dozen men the government says are members or associates of New York’s notorious Genovese, Gambino, Bonanno and Lucchese crime families. They are accused of orchestrating a high-tech poker manipulation scheme that duped unsuspecting players and raked in millions of dollars over six years.
“This alleged scheme wreaked havoc across the country, exploiting the notoriety of some and the wallets of others to fund Italian crime families,” said Christopher Raia, assistant director in charge of the FBI’s New York field office.
Here’s what we know about the alleged mob leaders, members and associates at the center of the explosive case.
Ernesto Aiello
The US government’s 22-page indictment identifies Aiello as a member of the Bonanno crime family. Prosecutors allege that organizers of a rigged game on Lexington Avenue in Manhattan were required to make payments to Aiello and his Bonanno associates.
Aiello, 46, has three prior felony convictions, according to a government detention memo revealed Thursday. He pleaded guilty in 2017 to first-degree promoting gambling and was sentenced to two to four years in prison, according to the memo. He also has prior convictions for attempted criminal possession of a loaded firearm in the third degree and attempted assault in the second degree.
A lawyer listed for Aiello did not immediately respond to NBC News’ request for comment.
Louis Apicella, also known as ‘Lou Ap’
The indictment identifies Apicella as an associate of the Gambino family and a member of a “cheating crew” that organized and participated in poker games, according to prosecutors.
Apicella, 50, has no criminal record, according to the arrest memo, but “the government’s investigation revealed that Apicella has access to firearms and has expressed a willingness to use violence for his own benefit.”
The memo cites a text message exchange in which Apicella allegedly talked about “opening…heads.”
Apicella’s lawyer, Sabrina Shroff, declined to comment.
Ammar Awawdeh, also known as ‘Flapper Poker’ and ‘Flappy’
The indictment identifies Awawdeh, 34, as an associate of the Gambino crime family. Prosecutors say he organized and participated in a rigged game at Washington Place in Manhattan and other locations, including the Hamptons, and was required to make payments to mobsters who backed the scheme.
Awawdeh is also accused of committing a robbery at gunpoint in September 2023 to steal a “specific model” of rigged shuffling machine that he and other defendants wanted to use in their games.
He has a prior felony conviction for laundering controlled substance proceeds and was sentenced to probation in 2020, according to the arrest memo.
Awawdeh’s lawyers, Mark Lesko and Matin Emouna, declined to comment.
Matthew Daddino, also known as ‘Matty’ and ‘The Wrestler’
The indictment identifies Daddino, 43, as a member of the Genovese family. Prosecutors say he helped run the Washington Place poker game in Manhattan and received “income” from the rigged games.
Gerard M. Marrone, Daddino’s attorney, said his client had “no criminal record” and maintains his innocence. Comparing the case to the Black Sox scandal of 1919, he said Daddino and other Italian-American defendants are “easy targets for the government,” while “the real criminals are being protected.”
Lee Fame
The indictment identifies Fama, 57, as a member of the Gambino family. According to prosecutors, he received a portion of the money from the games.
Fama has three prior felony convictions, according to the arrest memo. He pleaded guilty to marijuana distribution in 2012 and was sentenced to six months behind bars. He was previously convicted of assault for the benefit of organized crime and sentenced to 58 months in prison. He was also convicted of criminal sale of a controlled substance in the second degree.
Fama’s attorney, Marissa Sherman, declined to comment.
Juan Gallo
The indictment identifies Gallo, 53, as an associate of the Gambino family. According to prosecutors, he was an organizer of the Washington Place game and a member of a “cheating team” that fixed matches. He also received gambling winnings, the indictment says.
Gallo has a prior felony conviction, according to the arrest memo. In 2014, he pleaded guilty to attempted corporate corruption, attempted criminal usury, and promoting gambling in the first degree. He was sentenced to one year in prison.
An attorney listed for Gallo did not immediately respond to NBC News’ request for comment.
Tomás Gelardo, alias ‘Jugo’
The prosecution identified Gelardo, 42, as an associate of the Bonanno family who later became affiliated with the Genovese family. Prosecutors say he received profits from illegal gambling.
Gelardo is also accused of extorting money from an unidentified person to “secure payment of a debt.”
of illegal poker games” between November 2022 and September 2023.
He has multiple prior felony convictions, including assault and weapons possession, according to the arrest memo. Gelardo was convicted of second-degree assault in 2002 and sentenced to one year in prison. Three years later, he was convicted of second-degree assault and sentenced to a five-year suspended sentence.
Then, in 2008, he was convicted of criminal possession of a weapon in the third degree and sentenced to two to four years in prison.
An attorney listed for Gelardo did not immediately respond to NBC News’ request for comment.
Jose Lanni
The indictment identifies Lanni, 54, as a member and alleged captain of the Gambino family. According to prosecutors, he also received profits from illegal gambling.
He has multiple felony convictions, according to the sentencing memorandum. He was convicted of securities fraud in 1999 and sentenced to 30 months behind bars. He was convicted of promoting gambling in the first degree in 2014 and sentenced to one year in prison.
Lanni pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy related to his leadership role in the Gambino family.
Frederick Sosinsky, Lanni’s attorney, said in a statement that his client “has complied with all conditions of release” in the racketeering conspiracy case to which he pleaded guilty last week. Sosinsky said the court agreed to release Lanni on similar bail so he can defend himself in the new case.
“Unlike most of the other individuals charged in this week’s fraud, extortion, theft or money laundering indictment, Mr. Lanni has been charged solely with being involved in some way in the operation of a gambling business, what the government itself calls a ‘pure’ poker game where none of the elaborate high-tech means of cheating are even alleged to have taken place,” he said. Sosinsky. “Mr. Lanni denies any involvement in any such ‘straight’ or unfixed poker business and looks forward to his next court date.”
nicolas minucci
The indictment identifies Minucci, 39, as an associate of the Gambino family and a member of the “cheating team,” according to prosecutors. Prosecutors allege he participated in a gunpoint robbery in September 2023 involving the rigged shuffling machine.
Minucci has a “criminal record,” according to the arrest memo. He was convicted of several counts of robbery as a hate crime related to an incident in which he hit a black man in the head with a baseball bat and, using the N-word, told the victim not to enter his “predominantly Italian-American” neighborhood, the memo says.
He was sentenced to 25 years behind bars and released on parole in 2018.
An attorney listed for Minucci did not immediately respond to NBC News’ request for comment.
Antonio Ruggiero Jr.
The indictment identifies Ruggiero, 53, as a member of the Gambino family who received “profits” from clandestine gambling. Prosecutors describe him as having “a long history of committing serious crimes, including witness tampering.”
In 2008, he pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit murder in aid of organized crime and was sentenced to 84 months in prison.
While serving that sentence, he was convicted of witness tampering for intimidating a potential trial witness by allegedly shaping his hand “into the shape of a gun” and saying, “You know how we take care of rats, we get up close and personal.”
He received an additional sentence of 36 months.
Ruggiero’s attorney, James R. Froccaro, declined to comment.
Seth Trustman
The indictment identifies Trustman, 43, as an associate of the Lucchese family, the only alleged member of that clan named in the case. Trustman organized illegal gambling on Lexington Avenue and other locations, making payments to Aiello and Gelardo, the indictment says. He is also accused of extorting money from an unidentified person to collect gambling debts in 2023.
Trustman has two prior felony convictions, according to the arrest memo. He was sentenced to 22 months in prison in 2010 after pleading guilty to racketeering, racketeering conspiracy and two counts of illegal gambling. Nine years later, he was convicted of criminal usury and corporate corruption and later sentenced to three years in prison.
Contact information for attorneys representing Trustman was not immediately available and NBC News was unable to reach them for comment.
Julius Ziliani, also known as ‘Jay’
The indictment identifies Ziliani, 54, as a member of the Bonanno family who received a portion of the winnings from the games. Prosecutors allege that he and co-defendant Gelardo extorted an individual to collect gambling debts between November 2022 and February 2023.
Ziliani’s attorney, Marco A. Laracca, said his client “denies all allegations against him and looks forward to his day in court.”
