The Illinois Gaming Board is trying into how a mob-linked businessman was in a position to obtain a slot machine license. [Image: Shutterstock.com]
The Illinois Gaming Board is investigating how a mob-linked businessman obtained a slot machine license. Jeffrey Bertucci obtained approval in 2019 to function video gaming machines at his restaurant regardless of testifying in a 2010 federal courtroom case that he obtained machines from folks with organized crime hyperlinks. He would pay out the winnings to gamblers, which was unlawful in Illinois on the time.
ensure that authorized playing has no hyperlinks to organized crime
None of the present board members have been on the Illinois Gaming Board when the choice to green-light Bertucci’s 2019 software was made. One of many board’s key roles is to ensure that authorized playing has no connections to organized crime. It does have the power to revoke licenses, if mandatory.
A concerning link exists between the corporate from which Bertucci will get his playing gadgets and a former key politician. One in every of Accel Leisure’s lobbyists is an organization run by Michael Kasper, as soon as a high aide to former Illinois Home Speaker Michael Madigan, who’s at present dealing with federal racketeering expenses over allegations that he was utilizing his political affect for private monetary acquire. The gaming board intends to make certain that this political connection didn’t play a job in Bertucci receiving his license.
