NW Indiana raids tied to massive gambling indictment: NBC 5 Investigates

A federal grand jury indictment has been unsealed in Northwest Indiana that charges 22 people with gambling-related crimes and violent extortion in a major sports betting business, the NBC Chicago investigative team has learned.

The target of the operation by the FBI and criminal division of the IRS is a Schererville restaurateur who now stands accused of masterminding an illegal sports betting business across several states.

The Indiana businessman is who tops the indictment filed in Hammond is James “Jimmy the Greek” Gerodemos according to authorities.

Many of the defendants appeared in Indiana federal court on Wednesday without fanfare. Some of the defendants had nicknames listed by federal agents, a list that included “Rami Straight Flush, Caesars Andrew, Donny Brasco and Chuckie Hoffa.”

Private homes, businesses, restaurants and financial institutions are all listed in the indictment as targets of forfeiture efforts by prosecutors.

The indictment was connected to an FBI-led “multi-agency operation” in northern Indiana and other locations Wednesday morning, an investigation authorities had confirmed to NBC Chicago.

According to a spokesperson for the FBI Indianapolis Division, the bureau is leading the operation, which includes “court-authorized law enforcement activity” taking place at multiple locations in northern Indiana as well as other states, though the agency did not specify where.

“There is no known threat to the public connected to this. As this is an active investigation, we are not able to provide further details at this time,” a statement from the FBI read.

Federal agents could be seen loading box after box into a waiting van behind Gino’s Steakhouse in Merrillville, all while Indiana State Police blocked driveways to the popular restaurant.

NBC’s Sky 5 helicopter saw a similar raid underway at a private home on Turnberry in Schererville, where they paid special attention to a car that was parked out front.

In Hobart, some of the same locksmiths spotted at the Merrillville restaurant were called in to the Paragon restaurant, where another federal raid was underway.

The FBI offered little information on the reasoning behind the raids.

Court records showed Gerodemos, who is connected to the properties, previously served six months in federal prison in 2014 after pleading guilty in an illegal fireworks and explosives case.