Former Gambling Kingpin Indicted for Burglary of Wealthy Restaurateur’s Home

The victim leads a restaurant group that operates over a dozen establishments, many of which feature video gambling machines that have collectively generated more than $30 million in net terminal incomeImage Source: Shutterstock.com

Casey Szaflarski, 67, once labeled the Chicago Outfit’svideo gambling “kingpin,” was indicted on May 28on felony charges connected to a burglary of a wealthy restaurateur that occurred around March 18at a home in unincorporated West Dundee, according to court records.

Szaflarski Arrested for Alleged Burglary

Szaflarski and his alleged accomplices, reputed mob-associated burglar Paul Koroluk, andLouis Capuzi Jr.,the son of a former state legislator, are accused of ngaking possession of the homeowner’s property, including cash and/or jewelry valued between $10,000 and $100,000. They also face additional charges, including residential burglary.

The victim leads a restaurant group that operates over a dozen establishments, many of which feature video gambling machines that have collectively generated more than $30 millionin net terminal income, according to records from the Illinois Gaming Board. Amy Johnson, a spokesperson for the Kane County Sheriff’s Office, the agency handling the investigation, declined to comment on whether the three men are suspected in other burglaries. She stated only that the case remains “a pending investigation and is being worked on.”

Here’s More About the Three Suspects

Way back in 2012, Szaflarski was sentenced to more than three years in federal prison after being prosecuted for allegedly running a profitable, mob-linked video gambling operation under the direction of Cicero mob boss Michael “The Large Guy” Sarno, who is now incarcerated. For years, paying out winnings from video gambling machines was illegal in Illinois, though it remained widespread. The mob supplied machines to bars and other venues, splitting the profits, and at times using violence to handle rivals.

That began to change in 2009when the Illinois General Assembly passed legislation to legalize and regulate video gambling, although the first legal machines didn’t go live until 2012. Szaflarski, a resident of Chicago’s Bridgeport neighborhood, was released from federal custody in 2015.

Regarding Szaflarski’s alleged accomplice, Capuzi, 68, his lawyer says that he is an old man in bad health, and there’s no evidence that he was in the victim’s house or that he took anything. The lawyer also says that his client was dealing with a flat tire at the time of the reported break-in.

Capuzi’s late father, who shared his name, was an Illinois state legislator and deputy coroner linked to the so-called West Side Bloc. This political group was known for its connections to reputed organized crime figures. He was once convicted in a bribery case, though the conviction was later overturned, according to published reports. 

Last, but not least, Koroluk, 67, has a long criminal history that, as the Sun-Times reported in 1998, includes numerous arrests for offenses such as unlawful use of a weapon, possession of a silencer, battery, burglary, arson, assault, possession of burglary tools, and theft. In the 1990s, after he and several others were arrested in connection with break-ins in Long Grove, authorities reportedly recovered more than $1 millionworth of jewelry, clothing, and other valuables.