05021991 - News Article - Feds rearrest four in mob rackets case

Feds rearrest four in mob rackets case
NWI Times
May 2, 1991
http://www.nwitimes.com/uncategorized/feds-rearrest-four-in-mob-rackets-case/article_e41a0c78-9c08-5abe-9cb5-88fe4c15ed88.html
MERRILLVILLE - Four Merrillville siblings awaiting trial on charges they helped a Chicago organized crime family run an illegal gambling operation were rearrested Tuesday by federal authorities.

U.S. Magistrate Andrew P. Rodovich issued warrants Tuesday for the arrest of Sam Nuzzo Jr., 44; Arthur Nuzzo, 33; Sandra Mynes, 43; and Jennifer Kaufman, after information concerning their activities was filed in U.S. District Court.

Robert Pertuso, supervisory senior resident agent for the Federal Bureau of Investigation, said Wednesday FBI agents discovered new evidence against the four family members. They were arrested without incident in their homes by the FBI, the Indiana State Police and Merrillville police, he said.

The information, which will be unsealed at 1:30 p.m. today, provides support for their bond being revoked. If their bond is revoked by Rodovich they would be detained until their July 22 trial. They are being held at the Metropolitan Correction Center in Chicago until their court appearance today.

The four were among 15 people, including the alleged South Side boss of the Chicago "Outfit" crime family, Dominick Palermo and his aide, Nicholas Guzzino. The charges leveled by a federal grand jury last December resulted from an eight-year investigation by state and federal agencies.

The 31-count indictment involves charges of racketeering, illegal sports betting, high-stakes gambling and extorting protection money - called a "street tax" - from various Lake County businesses.

Sam Nuzzo Jr. faces a racketeering charge, two counts of extortion and one count of conducting and operating an illegal gambling business. He could be sentenced to a maximum of 85 years in prison and $1.25 million in fines.

The three other siblings, Arthur Nuzzo, Mynes and Kaufman, all face five years in prison and a $250,000 fine if found guilty of one count of conducting and operating an illegal gambling business.

Three of the defendants in what has been hailed as the area's largest organized crime case have been detained at MCC since their arrest last December - Palermo, Guzzino, and Peter Petros, 56, of Chicago.

Other defendants in the case are: Bernard Morgano, 54, of Valparaiso; Anthony Leone, 51, of Valparaiso, Sam Glorioso; Sam Nuzzo Sr., 69, of Merrillville, father to the four Nuzzo children; Anthony J. Ottomanelli, 60, of Portage; husband and wife, Ned M. Pujo and Yolande Martha Pujo; and Steve Sfouris, 55, formerly of Munster and now a fugitive.