- Outfit-connected burglary suspects include Casey Szaflarski and Paul Koroluk
- Kane County charges follow 2012 federal conviction for illegal gambling
- Prosecutors say burglary crew stole cash and jewelry from restaurateur
A man once pegged as the Chicago Outfit’s video gambling “kingpin” has landed himself back in court, this time for allegedly burglarizing the home of a notable restaurateur with the help of the son of a former state senator, The Chicago Sun Times reports.
Back in 2012, federal prosecutors said Casey Szaflarski ran video poker operations for Mob boss Michael “Fat Mike” Sarno.
Sarno was sentenced to 25 years in prison for racketeering and extortion – and for ordering the pipe bombing of the headquarters of a rival to his video-poker machine empire.
Szaflarski, now 67, served around three years in federal prison for his role in the racket and was released in 2015.
Unnamed Victim
According to court records that have only now come to light, Szaflarski was indicted May 28 in Kane County, Ill. on felony charges related to a break-in on or around March 18 at a residential property in unincorporated West Dundee, a far north Chicago suburb.
The unnamed victim is a “Chicago area restaurateur whose establishments are pulling in millions of dollars through video gambling,” but the victim’s lawyer said he did not believe the case had anything to do with gaming machines, according to the Sun-Times.
Charging documents allege the crew took “currency and/or jewelry” valued between $10,000 and $100,000.
Indicted along with Szaflarski are Louis Capuzi Jr, son of the late Republican state representative Louis F. Capuzi, and Paul Koroluk.
LK Street Crew
Koroluk was identified by state prosecutors in 2014 as co-leading the Panozzo-Koroluk (LK) Street Crew, part of a Grand Avenue Outfit crew run by Outfit boss Albert “Little Guy” Vena.
Investigators began focusing on the crew in October 2013 after uncovering evidence that Koroluk’s partner, Robert Panozzo Sr., had allegedly plotted to have a witness in a home-invasion and kidnapping case murdered to keep them from testifying at trial, according to a Chicago Tribune story at the time. Capuzi was identified as a member of the same crew in the story.
Koroluk, who has an extensive and publicly documented criminal history, was sentenced to 18 years in prison in 2014 for felony racketeering. That’s after he pleaded guilty to being part of a group that posed as police officers to rob drug cartel stash houses. It’s not clear when he was released.
Amy Johnson of the Kane County Sheriff’s Office, which is handling the case, says it is still pending and “being worked on.”
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