The members of New York City’s notorious “Five Families” are known by many names: wise guys, goodfellas, friends of ours. At least a dozen men with alleged ties to the Mafia can now add a new moniker 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 — among them 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 rigging scheme that duped unsuspecting gamblers and raked in millions of dollars over six years.
“This alleged scheme wreaked havoc across the nation, exploiting the notoriety of some and the wallets of others to finance the 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 Mafia leaders, members and associates at the center of the explosive case.
Ernest Aiello
The U.S. 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 memorandum unsealed Thursday. He pleaded guilty in 2017 to promoting gambling in the first degree and was sentenced to two to four years behind bars, 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.
An attorney listed for Aiello did not immediately respond to NBC News’ request for comment.
Louis Apicella, aka ‘Lou Ap’
The indictment identifies Apicella as an associate of the Gambino family and a member of a “Cheating Team” that organized and participated in poker games, according to prosecutors.
Apicella, 50, has no criminal history, according to the detention memo, but “the government’s investigation revealed that Apicella has access to firearms and has expressed a willingness to use violence for his own gain.”
The memo cites one text message exchange in which Apicella allegedly discussed “cracking … heads open.”
Apicella’s lawyer, Sabrina Shroff, declined to comment.
Ammar Awawdeh, aka ‘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 the mobsters backing the scheme.
Awawdeh is also accused of committing gunpoint robbery in September 2023 to steal a “specific model” of rigged shuffling machine that he and other defendants wanted to use at their games.
He has one prior felony conviction for laundering the proceeds of controlled substances and was sentenced to probation in 2020, according to the detention memo.
Awawdeh’s attorneys, Mark Lesko and Matin Emouna, declined to comment.
Matthew Daddino, aka ‘Matty’ and ‘The Wrestler’
The indictment identifies Daddino, 43, as a member of the Genovese family. Prosecutors say he helped manage the Washington Place poker game in Manhattan and received “proceeds” from the rigged games.
Gerard M. Marrone, an attorney for Daddino, said his client “had no criminal history whatsoever” and maintains his innocence. Comparing the case to the 1919 Black Sox scandal, he said Daddino and other Italian American defendants are “easy targets for the government” while the “real criminals are being protected.”
Lee Fama
The indictment identifies Fama, 57, as a member of the Gambino family. He received a portion of the money from the games, according to prosecutors.
Fama has three prior felony convictions, according to the detention memo. He pleaded guilty to distribution of marijuana in 2012 and was sentenced to six months behind bars. He was previously convicted of assault in aid of racketeering and sentenced t0 58 months in prison. He was also convicted of criminal sale of a controlled substance in the second degree.
Fama’s lawyer, Marissa Sherman, declined to comment.
John Gallo
The indictment identifies Gallo, 53, as an associate of the Gambino family. He was an organizer of the Washington Place game and a member of a “Cheating Team” that rigged the matches, according to prosecutors. He also received proceeds from the game, the indictment says.
Gallo has one prior felony conviction, according to the detention memo. In 2014, he pleaded guilty to attempted enterprise 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.
Thomas Gelardo, aka ‘Juice’
The indictment identified Gelardo, 42, as an associate of the Bonanno family who later became affiliated with the Genovese family. Prosecutors say he received proceeds from the illegal games.
Gelardo is also accused of extorting an unnamed person to “secure the repayment of debt
from illegal poker games” between November 2022 and September 2023.
He has multiple prior felony convictions for violent crimes, including assaults and weapons possession, according to the detention memo. Gelardo was convicted of assault in the second degree in 2002 and sentenced to a year in prison. Three years later, he was convicted of assault in the second degree and given a suspended five-year sentence.
Then, in 2008, he was convicted of criminal possession of a weapon in the third degree and sentenced to two to four years behind bars.
An attorney listed for Gelardo did not immediately respond to NBC News’ request for comment.
Joseph Lanni
The indictment identifies Lanni, 54, as a member and an alleged captain of the Gambino family. He also received proceeds from the illegal games, according to prosecutors.
He has multiple prior felony convictions, according to the sentencing memo. 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, an attorney for Lanni, said in a statement that his client has “been compliant with all of the conditions of release” from the racketeering conspiracy case to which he pleaded guilty last week. Sosinsky said the court agreed to release Lanni on similar bail conditions so he can defend himself in the new case.
“Unlike most of the other individuals who are accused in this week’s indictment of fraud, extortion, robbery or money laundering, Mr. Lanni has been charged solely with somehow being involved in the operation of a gambling business — what the government itself terms a ‘straight’ poker game where none of the elaborate means of high-tech cheating is even alleged to have taken place,” Sosinsky said. “Mr. Lanni denies participation in that ‘straight’ or unfixed poker business and looks forward to his next court date.”
Nicholas 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 took part in a September 2023 gunpoint robbery revolving around the rigged shuffling machine.
Minucci has a “criminal history,” according to the detention memo. He was convicted on various counts of robbery as a hate crime related to an incident in which he beat 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 to parole supervision in 2018.
An attorney listed for Minucci did not immediately respond to NBC News’ request for comment.
Anthony Ruggiero Jr.
The indictment identifies Ruggiero, 53, as a member of the Gambino family who received “proceeds” from the underground games. 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 racketeering and was sentenced to 84 months in prison.
While serving that sentence, he was convicted of witness tampering for intimidating a potential trial witness, reportedly forming 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 36-month sentence.
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 games on Lexington Avenue and other locations, making payments to Aiello and Gelardo, the indictment says. He is also accused of extorting an unnamed person to collect gambling debts in 2023.
Trustman has two prior felony convictions, according to the detention 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 enterprise corruption, then sentenced to three years in prison.
Contact information for attorneys representing Trustman was not immediately available, and NBC News could not reach them for comment.
Julius Ziliani, aka ‘Jay’
The indictment identifies Ziliani, 54, as a member of the Bonanno family who received a share of the games’ proceeds. Prosecutors allege 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.”
