A group of alleged mobsters are at the heart of a rigged table game scheme that defrauded millions from poker players, according to an indictment unsealed in New York.
The key figures in the racket to rig card games are making the rounds on global news outlets like the script of a Hollywood mafia saga involving the Bonanno, Gambino, and Genovese crime syndicates.
Key locations in the card game case
The federal indictment (U.S. v. Aiello et al.) was unsealed in the U.S. District Court, Eastern District of New York, against 31 individuals for their actions from 2019 and 2023.
The indictment alleged their role is tied to La Cosa Nostra, the managing entity that approves illegal activity, with the accused individuals acting on behalf of the crime families.
Two locations were used for weekly poker games, referred to in the indictment as “Washington Place” and “Lexington Avenue” in Manhattan, New York.
The Washington Place environment was the key hub of the activity and decision-making, said the indictment, from January 2021 and October 2023.
In these games, advanced card-reading facilities, altered shuffling machines, and hidden wireless technology were used to reveal the winning hand via cell phone and filtered through a role titled “Quarterback.”
According to the indictment, the lengthy list included, “Tony Goodson, Shane Hennen, Curtis Meeks, and Robert Stroud supplied the cheating technology. The defendants Ammar Awawdeh, Saul Becher, John Gallo, Zhen Hu, Stroud, and Seth Trustman organized the rigged games. Members of the cheating teams included the defendants Nelson Alvarez, Louis Apicella, Chauncey Billups, Eric Earnest, Marco Garzon, Jamie Gilet, Tony Goodson, Kenny Han, Hennen, Horatio Hu, Damon Jones, John Mazzola, Nicholas Minucci, Michael Renzulli, Angelo Ruggiero, Jr., Stroud, Trustman, and Sophia Wei.”
Key mobsters charged in rigged poker game scandal
Amongst the 31 individuals involved in the indictment, there are several people described as key players in the delivery of this advanced technological scheme to defraud millions from unwitting poker players.
Ernest Aiello
Ernest Aiello, an alleged member of the Bonanno Crime Family, had a leading role, according to the charges, as an orchestrator and facilitator of the rigged table games.
Louis Apicella aka ‘Lou Alp’
Louis Apicella, also known as “Lou Alp,” has been accused of facilitating the cheating and rigged elements of the table games alongside Aiello. He is, according to the case information, a known member of the Gambino Crime Family.
Both men are heavily responsible, say the charges, for the sanctioning of players to enter the games, offering protection to players and other crime families, and organizing the collection of debts owed via the game outcomes.
Ammar Awawdeh aka ‘Flappy’
Ammar Awawdeh, aka “Flappy” and “Flapper Poker,” had a role in organizing what the case refers to as the Washington Place Game. He is referred to as an associate of the Gambino Family in the case notes and a key player in the Cheating Teams.
Matthew Daddino aka ‘Matty’ or ‘The Wrestler’
Matthew Daddino, known as “Matty” and “The Wrestler” to the Gambino Crime Family, led the physical delivery of the table games alongside Joseph Lanni, Michael Renzulli, and Angelo Ruggiero Jr, according to the indictment.
Becher, Zhen Hu, and Trustman, involved heavily in the Lexington A Game, were required to pay defendants Ernest Aiello, Julius Ziliani, and Thomas Gelardo of the Bonanno family.
Awawdeh and Gallo were required to pay defendants Lee Fama, Joseph Lanni, and Ruggiero of the Gambino family, and the defendant Matthew Daddino of the Genovese family for the games.
Former NBA Players
As we reported, the FBI released information involving three individuals with ties to the NBA at the same time the indictment information was released about the rigged Texas Hold’em poker games.
The key bond between both cases is the alleged involvement of Portland Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups and former NBA star Damon Jones.
As the case specifically mentions both men as “Face Cards” to attract wealthy patrons and poker players into the games. These individuals would not know that, according to the indictment, Billups and Jones were involved in the rigged elements.
The indictment read “The defendants (Billups and Jones), both of whom are former professional basketball players, were Face Cards and members of the Cheating Teams.”
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