Chicago Outfit ‘Video Poker King’ Arrested for Burglarizing Wealthy Restaurateur

  • 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.

Szaflarski, Chicago Outfit, Paul Koroluk, Louis Capuzi, West Dundee burglary
Reputed Mob associate Casey Szaflarski, pictured after his most recent arrest, is accused of burglarizing the home of a millionaire restaurateur in Chicago’s far north suburbs. (Image: Kane County Sheriff’s Office)

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.”

Philip Conneller
Philip Conneller Senior Reporter

In Philip Conneller’s eight years with Casino.org, he has covered the gaming industry from Las Vegas to Macau and everything in between. He currently focuses his coverage on gaming law, white-collar crime, global money laundering, tribal gaming, politics, and regulation.

Philip was the original features editor for poker’s Bluff Magazine and editor for Bluff Europe, which he helped launch. His writing has also been featured in ESPN, Forbes, Time Out, The Sun, and The Daily Star, as well as iGaming Business, eGaming Review, and numerous other industry news and tech websites.

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Philip once won $20,000 with 7-2 off-suit. He has been reprimanded for unwittingly playing Elton John’s piano on two separate occasions on both sides of the Atlantic.

He became a writer because he is a lousy pianist.

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Contact Philip at philip.conneller@casino.org.

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