Quick deal: what’s this all about?
Federal agents say a six-year, high-tech poker scam—dubbed “Operation Royal Flush”—tricked gamblers across the country and funneled millions back to people tied to New York’s crime families. Officials charged 34 people in total, and about a dozen of those are described as members or associates of the Genovese, Gambino, Bonanno and Lucchese crews. Translation: a lot of alleged wiseguys, some crooked shufflers, and a whole lot of courtroom drama to come.
Authorities say the scheme used rigged equipment and coordinated teams to fix private poker games, then skimmed the profits. The FBI summarized it as exploiting reputations and wallets to benefit organized crime — which, to be fair, is a pretty efficient hustle.
Ernest Aiello
Age: 46. Alleged: Bonanno family member. According to the indictment, Aiello was one of the people who received money from an organized rigged game on Lexington Avenue. Court records also list multiple past felony convictions, including a guilty plea for promoting gambling in 2017 and prior convictions tied to firearms and assault.
Louis Apicella (aka “Lou Ap”)
Age: 50. Alleged: Gambino associate and part of a so-called “Cheating Team.” The government says he helped organize and take part in the crooked poker matches. The detention memo claims he has access to guns and once made a violent-sounding remark in a text, though it notes he has no prior criminal record. His attorney declined comment.
Ammar Awawdeh (aka “Flapper Poker” / “Flappy”)
Age: 34. Alleged: Gambino associate who allegedly ran and played in rigged games in Manhattan and the Hamptons, and who was required to pay portions of the proceeds to mob backers. He’s also accused of a September 2023 gunpoint robbery to steal a particular model of a rigged shuffling machine the crew wanted to use. He has one prior felony conviction for laundering drug proceeds and received probation in 2020.
Matthew Daddino (aka “Matty” / “The Wrestler”)
Age: 43. Alleged: Genovese family member. Prosecutors say he helped manage the Washington Place poker game and took a cut from the crooked operation. His lawyer says Daddino has no criminal history and maintains his innocence, arguing the case unfairly targets Italian American defendants.
Lee Fama
Age: 57. Alleged: Gambino family member who received money from the games. Court records list several prior felony convictions, including a 2012 guilty plea for distribution of marijuana, an assault-related racketeering conviction, and a drug sale conviction.
John Gallo
Age: 53. Alleged: Gambino associate and organizer of the Washington Place game, and a named member of a “Cheating Team.” He reportedly received proceeds from the rigged matches and has a prior conviction from 2014 for attempted enterprise corruption, criminal usury and promoting gambling.
Thomas Gelardo (aka “Juice”)
Age: 42. Alleged: Started as a Bonanno associate and later linked with the Genovese family. Prosecutors say he got money from the illegal poker operations and allegedly extorted someone to collect gambling debts between November 2022 and September 2023. Records also show multiple past convictions for violent offenses and weapons charges.
Joseph Lanni
Age: 54. Alleged: Gambino member and identified as a captain in filings. He’s accused of receiving proceeds from the games but, according to his lawyer, was charged in this indictment only with involvement in a “straight” poker operation where no high-tech cheating is alleged. Lanni has prior convictions, including securities fraud and a 2014 promoting-gambling conviction, and recently pleaded guilty in a racketeering-related matter.
Nicholas Minucci
Age: 39. Alleged: Gambino associate and member of the “Cheating Team.” Prosecutors say he took part in a September 2023 gunpoint robbery tied to the rigged shuffling machine. His record includes a serious robbery conviction tied to a racially motivated attack; he served a lengthy sentence and was released on parole in 2018.
Anthony Ruggiero Jr.
Age: 53. Alleged: Gambino family member who received proceeds from the underground poker games. The indictment points to a lengthy criminal past, including a 2008 guilty plea to conspiracy to commit murder in aid of racketeering and a separate conviction for witness tampering that added more prison time.
Seth Trustman
Age: 43. Alleged: The sole Lucchese-linked defendant named in this batch. Authorities say he organized games on Lexington Avenue and elsewhere, paid sums to other alleged mob figures like Aiello and Gelardo, and may have extorted someone over gambling debts in 2023. He has previous felony convictions, including racketeering-related charges and later convictions for criminal usury and enterprise corruption.
Julius Ziliani (aka “Jay”)
Age: 54. Alleged: Bonanno family member who reportedly collected a share of the poker proceeds. Prosecutors accuse him and Gelardo of extorting someone to recover gambling debts in late 2022 and early 2023. His lawyer says he denies the allegations and is ready to fight them in court.
What now?
All defendants are listed in the indictment as facing federal charges related to the poker scheme. Many have prior convictions; some have lawyers publicly disputing the allegations. As with any indictment, these are allegations and everyone is entitled to their day in court—so expect several dramatic hearings, lawyerly denials, and maybe a few more colorful nicknames to surface before this hand is played out.
