Trump Pardons Adam Kidan in SunCruz Fraud Case Tied to Gus Boulis Murder

US President Donald Trump on Friday granted a full pardon to Adam Kidan, whose fraudulent bid to acquire SunCruz Casinos sparked a business dispute that ended with the 2001 murder of company founder Gus Boulis by the Mafia.

Kidan was not accused of complicity in the murder, but he did plead guilty to fraud, conspiracy to bribe public officials, and tax evasion in relation to the SunCruz affair and was sentenced to 70 months in prison.

Kidan was a business partner of Jack Abramoff – the notorious Washington lobbyist later convicted of fraudulently exploiting Native American tribes’ gaming interests. In 2000, the pair agreed to purchase the SunCruz fleet of casinos ships from Boulis for $147.5 million.

But they were later found to have used a fake wire transfer to con lenders into believing they had made a $23 million down payment on SunCruz so they could obtain a $60 million loan.

Who Was Gus Boulis?

Boulis, who also founded the Miami Subs restaurant chain, was a Greek immigrant and self-made millionaire who arrived in North America with nothing, after reportedly jumping ship while serving in the Greek merchant marine.

After making his money in the restaurant business in Florida, he launched SunCruz Casinos in 1994. The company’s “cruises to nowhere” would take gamblers out into international waters where state gambling rules did not apply.

Eventually, SunCruz caught the attention of federal officials who prosecuted Boulis under a 100-year-old law designed to protect American shipping from foreign interests.

Boulis was accused of concealing the fact that although he owned and controlled SunCruz, he was not yet a US citizen when the casino vessels were purchased and documented, a violation of the Shipping Act.

As part of a settlement, Boulis agreed to pay $500,000 in fines and to divest himself of the SunCruz fleet over the ensuing three years – and Kidan and Abramoff agreed to buy it, with Boulis retaining a silent 10%.

‘Big Tony’

Boulis quickly fell out with Abramoff and Kidan. Just days before he died, Boulis was accused of trying to stab Kidan with a pen.

Kidan hired Anthony “Big Tony” Moscatiello and Anthony “Little Tony” Ferrari to provide security at SunCruz after his dispute with Boulis escalated. Prosecutors later alleged the men were Gambino associates.

Prosecutors argued Moscatiello and Ferrari feared Boulis intended to regain control of SunCruz and arranged for fellow mob associate John “J.J.” Gurino to kill him in order to protect their lucrative security arrangement.

Boulis was shot to death in February 2001 as he sat in his car in downtown Fort Lauderdale.

Aftermath

Moscatiello and Ferrari were sentenced to life in prison for murder, and Kidan testified for the prosecution at their trial. Gurino was later murdered by a Boca Raton deli owner in a case unrelated to SunCruz.

After his release from prison in 2009, Kidan launched a successful staffing business and became a major Republican donor. In the 2025-26 election cycle alone, he and his wife donated just under $1 million to Republican causes, according to electoral records.

The pardon also appears to extinguish Kidan’s outstanding $21.7 million federal restitution obligation arising from the SunCruz fraud conviction, according to the Florida Bulldog.