Todd DiMichele pleads guilty to gambling operation in Canton Ohio
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Todd DiMichele, 49, made his initial appearance in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, via video conference on Monday and pleaded guilty in a bill of information.
In doing so, DiMichele agreed to skip an indictment; instead admitting guilt to the charges up front. His attorney, Sam Ferruccio Jr., confirmed the agreement, but declined further comment.
DiMichele is to be sentenced at 10 a.m. Dec. 6 by Judge Donald C. Nugent on charges of conspiracy to operate illegal gambling businesses and money laundering conspiracy.
The term of his potential sentence is unclear, though DiMichele did sign a waiver acknowledging he's been charged with one or more crimes punishable by more than a year in prison.
Authorities seize cash, houses, vehicles in raid of 'skill games' parlors
The charges came three years after authorities conducted sweeping raids at so-called skills games parlors across Stark County. DiMichele is believed to be the first of those parlor owners to plead guilty.
As part of that operation, agents not only seized records, but also $2.9 million in cash, houses, vehicles, jewelry and silver bars, allegedly tied to the businesses or acquired with proceeds generated by gambling.
Todd Weitzel, a spokesman for the U.S. Department of the Treasury's IRS-Criminal Investigation unit, declined comment on potential charges against other operators. U.S. attorneys Robert E. Bulford and Bridget M. Brennan could not immediately be reached for comment.
Court documents indicate DiMichele worked with one or more unnamed co-conspirators from January 2013 until July 11, 2018 in gambling businesses at 3034 Martindale Road NE in Plain Township; 2521 Waynesburg Drive SE in Canton Township; and 3000 Atlantic Boulevard NE and 3802 Tuscarawas Street W, both in Canton.
As part of his plea, DiMichele agreed to forfeit to the government $114,714 that was seized from his home on July 11, 2018.
In May, four others identified during the same 2018 raids were arrested, following an indictment by a federal grand jury. Jason Kachner, and his wife, Rebecca Kachner, Ronald DiPietro and Thomas Helmick are expected to face trials in 2022, according to court records.
In related civil forfeiture cases, prosecutors have alleged the raided businesses operated games of chance, such as slot machines, video slot machines, and/or video poker games, which provided cash payouts.
In addition, they've said parlor owners tried to conceal true ownership of the illegal businesses and hid income by hoarding cash or laundering it through transactions to make it appear legitimate.
