FBI memos say people linked to Emerald investors had mob ties

June 1, 2005

BY MAURA KELLY LANNAN ASSOCIATED PRESS

Two FBI memos that the Illinois Gaming Board has relied on to argue that Emerald Casino's gambling license should be revoked contain allegations that two people associated with Emerald investors also have ties to organized crime, according to testimony Wednesday.

The FBI memos from November 2000, which were commissioned by the Gaming Board, said Nick Boscarino and Vito Salamone have ties to La Cosa Nostra (LCN), an organized crime group. The Sherri Boscarino Trust and Salamone's brother, Joseph, were investors in Emerald.

Parts of the FBI report were made public during a hearing Wednesday to revoke the bankrupt Emerald's gambling license. The Gaming Board has been trying to revoke the license since January 2001-- two months after the board got the FBI reports-- over concerns that top company officials lied to regulators and some investors allegedly had ties to organized crime. Attorney General Lisa Madigan also has said there were possible mob ties in Rosemont, where Emerald planned to build a casino.

"Nick Boscarino appears to be, at the very least, a close associate of a number of members of the LCN," one FBI report said.

Attorneys for Nick and his wife, Sherri Boscarino, and Joseph Salamone did not return calls for comment. A public listing for Vito Salamone could not be found.

The report said Boscarino was a "close associate" to the late Chicago mob boss William "Willie Potatoes" Daddano and his sons, and that Boscarino and Daddano were involved in a company that leases equipment at trade shows.

Vito Salamone "is close with members and associates of Chicago LCN," the other FBI report said. It also said Vito Salamone was president and Joseph Salamone was secretary of a company that operated a restaurant in Addison "known to the FBI as being a meeting place of Chicago LCN."

The full reports were not released, but their content was referred to during the testimony of Sergio Acosta, a former Gaming Board administrator. Emerald attorney Robert Clifford argued against using the reports because he said they were hearsay and their use could violate federal privacy laws.

Acosta testified that Nick Boscarino loaned $1.5 million to the Sherri Boscarino Trust's trustee-- his mother Ida Hansen-- about two weeks after the trust was created on Aug. 13, 1999, according to a promissory note.

The loan raises questions about whether the Sherri Boscarino Trust, named after Boscarino's wife, was the actual investor in Emerald or whether it was Nick Boscarino.

The amount of Nick Boscarino's loan to the trust was the same as the price for a 1 percent share in Emerald, Acosta said. The trust had purchased a 1 percent share in the casino by Oct. 25, 1999, according to a list of shareholders.

Acosta testified that a document showing Joseph Salamone as an Emerald investor originally appeared to have Vito Salamone's name on it, which was crossed out and replaced with Joseph Salamone's name.

Acosta also testified that Antoin "Tony" Rezko, a businessman and close adviser to Gov. Rod Blagojevich whose government business deals have come under scrutiny recently, indicated he was interested in becoming an investor in Emerald but never completed the required paperwork.