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An associate of convicted political insider Antoin “Tony” Rezko was sentenced Thursday to nearly five years prison on tax evasion charges tied to a multimillion-dollar sports betting operation he ran in the 1990s.
U.S. District Judge Ronald Guzman blasted Alber Najjar as a man who "lies and cheats and steals" to get what he wants and who has shown little remorse.
Najjar was arrested in Cyprus last October after being on the run for nearly 11 years and extradited to the U.S.
"He tells us nothing. He gives only superficial explanations," Guzman said during his sentencing. "We have no idea how this man has supported himself.”
The judge had initially sentenced Najjar to six years behind bars but had to change it to five years due to a clerical error.
The Syrian-born Najjar was indicted in April 2004 on charges alleging he evaded paying taxes on more than $2.8 million in income stemming from the Chicago-based bookmaking business.
Beginning in 2000, Najjar invested at least $2.5 million in Rezko-owned businesses, much of which came from a bookmaking account Najjar held in Curacao, which was once home to over a dozen sportsbook businesses. Pinnacle Sports still operates there.
- Gilbert Horowitz, Gambling911.com
