Rochester Pair Get Home Detention in Sports Betting Case

Two Rochester men have been sentenced for their roles in an illegal sports betting ring widely covered here at Gambling911.com.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, 42-year-old Louis Ferrari, the Second, and 40-year-old Dominick Sprague were convicted of conspiracy to transmit wagering information in interstate commerce and conduct an illegal gambling business.  Each was sentenced separately and must serve 10 months of home detention in addition to forfeiting some of their gambling proceeds.  The sentences were handed down by Chief U.S. District Judge Elizabeth A. Wolford on Wednesday.

Ferrari forfeited $150,000 and Sprague forfeited approximately $92,000.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Meghan K. McGuire and Melissa M. Marangola, who handled the case, stated that between April 25, 2019, and April 17, 2021, Ferrari and Sprague conspired with Anthony Amato, Tomasso Sessa, Joseph Lombardo, Jeffrey Boscarino, James Civiletti, and others, to finance, manage, and own all or part of an illegal bookmaking business, which had gross daily revenue of approximately $2,000.00. In furtherance of the conspiracy, Ferrari, and co-defendant Amato, created accounts for Sprague, Boscarino, and Lombardo on “sport700.com”, a website for placing and tracking bets on sports events.

Ferrari allegedly had 16 sub-agents who managed 221 individual bettor accounts.  He is said to have generated over $1.2 million in winnings while another defendant, Anthony Amato, allegedly generated nearly $9 million in winnings.

The complaint also claims Ferrari Excavating, a business owned by Louis Ferrari, paid many of its employees off the books with envelopes of cash.  Investigators said Ferrari used more than $600,000 from the gambling operation to pay his excavating company employees.

Ferrari was substituting legitimate business revenue with illegal gambling proceeds before paying the legitimate business revenue to himself, per the complaint.

"In illegal businesses, as in legal businesses, conflicts arise, territories are threatened, relationships break down, promises are broken, and debts are unpaid," Assistant U.S. Attorney Meghan McGuire, the lead prosecutor in the case, wrote in court papers. "Legal businesses turn to law enforcement and the courts to resolve these disputes.

"Illegal businesses cannot. So, instead, they resort to intimidation, threats, and violence to resolve their disputes and collect their debts."

An undercover police officer was credited for taking down the ring.  The unidentified officer entered the premises in September 2020 and witnessed rooms surrounded by gambling tables, televisions and a minibar.

The undercover officer asked to make their own sports bets, and received almost $400 for winning those bets later in the month.  The officer spent $500 on chips, and participated in hold ’em poker.