A man who conspired with a former controller to embezzle millions from the company that owned or developed the Residences at MGM, Town Square shopping center, Turnberry Place, Turnberry Towers, and the Stirling Club in Las Vegas was sentenced to 51 months in prison, three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay approximately $3.7 million in restitution, announced Daniel G. Bogden, United States Attorney for the District of Nevada.
Rocco Lazazzaro, 55, of Las Vegas, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Gloria M. Navarro. Lazazzaro pleaded guilty in May to conspiracy to commit wire fraud. According to his guilty plea agreement, from about May 17, 2007 to about January 12, 2012, Lazazzaro and Hope Ippoliti, 51, the former controller for Turnberry Associates, conspired to steal more than $3.7 million from Turnberry and its affiliates.
“Through this embezzlement scheme, Mr. Lazazzaro and Ms. Ippoliti victimized not only Turnberry Associates in the amount of $5.6 million but caused irreparable harm and financial damage to the many victims and business entities employed and supported by Turnberry Associates,” said United States Attorney Bogden. “It is truly sad that the greed and self-indulgent criminal conduct of Mr. Lazazzaro continues to result in harm to so many other innocent victims.”
Ippoliti created fund transfer requests containing false information that the funds were intended for business-related purposes when she and Lazazzaro actually intended to withdraw the funds for personal use. Ippoliti faxed or e-mailed the fund transfer requests from Nevada to Turnberry Associates in Florida to cause the transfer of funds into Bank of America accounts over which she had signatory authority. Ippoliti and Lazazzaro deposited and cashed checks and cashier’s checks drawn on Bank of America bank accounts belonging to Turnberry Associates and its affiliates.
The total losses to Turnberry Associates and its affiliates are a total of $5.6 million. According to Lazazzaro’s guilty plea agreement, he was directly involved in causing approximately $3.7 million of those losses. The sentencing memorandum filed by the government states that Lazazzaro used the stolen monies for gambling and drug use.
Lazarro has four prior felony convictions and numerous misdemeanor convictions, many of which involved violence or threats of violence against others through the use or threatened use of fire, knives, or blunt objects. In 1986, while on probation for a 1980 felony grand theft conviction, he was convicted of committing five robberies in addition to vicious assaults and was sentenced to 10 to 20 years in prison. He was discharged from parole one year before committing the Turnberry embezzlement crimes.
Ippoliti pleaded guilty in March to conspiracy to commit wire fraud resulting in total losses of $5.6 million and is scheduled to be sentenced on September 19, 2013, at 9:00 a.m. before U.S. District Judge Gloria M. Navarro.
Sunday, August 25, 2013
Joseph Morrill Pleads Guilty to Federal Armed Robbery and Firearms Charges
United States Attorney Thomas E. Delahanty, II announced today that Joseph Morrill, 23, of South Portland, Maine, pled guilty Monday in U.S. District Court in Portland before Judge D. Brock Hornby to federal armed robbery and firearms charges.
According to court records and evidence introduced at the plea hearing, on September 21, 2012, a Glock pistol and a badge belonging to a law enforcement detective were stolen from a motor vehicle in South Portland. On April 17, 2013, Morrill used the pistol to rob a Cumberland Farms store in South Portland absconding with $182 in cash. On April 22, 2013, Morrill used the pistol to rob a TD Bank branch in South Portland absconding with $5,612 in cash. On June 14, 2013, agents seized the handgun during the execution of a federal search warrant at a residence in South Portland.
Morrill faces up to 30 years’ imprisonment and a $250,000 fine for robbing Cumberland Farms, up to 25 years’ imprisonment, and a $250,000 fine for robbing TD Bank, a consecutive sentence of between seven years and life imprisonment for using the stolen pistol during and in relation to the TD Bank robbery and up to 10 years for possessing the stolen firearm.
He will be sentenced after completion of a pre-sentence investigation report by the United States Probation Office.
The investigation was conducted by the South Portland Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
According to court records and evidence introduced at the plea hearing, on September 21, 2012, a Glock pistol and a badge belonging to a law enforcement detective were stolen from a motor vehicle in South Portland. On April 17, 2013, Morrill used the pistol to rob a Cumberland Farms store in South Portland absconding with $182 in cash. On April 22, 2013, Morrill used the pistol to rob a TD Bank branch in South Portland absconding with $5,612 in cash. On June 14, 2013, agents seized the handgun during the execution of a federal search warrant at a residence in South Portland.
Morrill faces up to 30 years’ imprisonment and a $250,000 fine for robbing Cumberland Farms, up to 25 years’ imprisonment, and a $250,000 fine for robbing TD Bank, a consecutive sentence of between seven years and life imprisonment for using the stolen pistol during and in relation to the TD Bank robbery and up to 10 years for possessing the stolen firearm.
He will be sentenced after completion of a pre-sentence investigation report by the United States Probation Office.
The investigation was conducted by the South Portland Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Shauna Quinn Pleads Guilty to Bank Fraud
United States Attorney Thomas E. Delahanty II announced that Shauna Quinn, 44, of Rockland, Maine, pled guilty in United States District Court before Judge George Z. Singal to a bank fraud charge.
According to court records, the defendant worked at Rockland Savings Bank in Rockland, Maine, as a collections manager. Between July 2008 and June 2011, she created home equity lines of credit and a share loan in the names of her family members and had more than $400,000 in funds improperly withdrawn from those loans.
A forensic review by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) of the unauthorized activity posted under defendant’s teller ID number for the period from July 2008 to June 2011 revealed that the defendant misappropriated more than $400,000 through improper advances on loans and lines of credit that were not authorized by the bank and agreed to by the borrower. The defendant perpetrated the scheme by increasing the authorized amounts of lines of credit without approval, changing customers’ mail addresses without consent, improperly posting transactions, and creating fictitious loan documents. The fraud was concealed by the defendant who used loan advances to make payments on other loans in order to keep them current.
Quinn faces a sentence of up to 30 years of imprisonment and a fine of up to twice the gain or loss. She will be sentenced after the completion of a presentence investigation report by the United States Probation Office.
The investigation was conducted by the FBI.
According to court records, the defendant worked at Rockland Savings Bank in Rockland, Maine, as a collections manager. Between July 2008 and June 2011, she created home equity lines of credit and a share loan in the names of her family members and had more than $400,000 in funds improperly withdrawn from those loans.
A forensic review by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) of the unauthorized activity posted under defendant’s teller ID number for the period from July 2008 to June 2011 revealed that the defendant misappropriated more than $400,000 through improper advances on loans and lines of credit that were not authorized by the bank and agreed to by the borrower. The defendant perpetrated the scheme by increasing the authorized amounts of lines of credit without approval, changing customers’ mail addresses without consent, improperly posting transactions, and creating fictitious loan documents. The fraud was concealed by the defendant who used loan advances to make payments on other loans in order to keep them current.
Quinn faces a sentence of up to 30 years of imprisonment and a fine of up to twice the gain or loss. She will be sentenced after the completion of a presentence investigation report by the United States Probation Office.
The investigation was conducted by the FBI.
Travis Landry Pleads Guilty to Federal Kidnapping and Firearm Charges
United States Attorney Thomas E. Delahanty, II announced that Travis R. Landry, 29, of Surry, pled guilty in United States District Court before Judge Nancy Torresen to charges of interstate kidnapping and brandishing a firearm in relation to the kidnapping.
According to court records, in mid-April 2013, Landry responded to an advertisement in Craigslist for the sale of a BMW automobile. On the evening of April 24, Landry met with the BMW’s owner at a location on Riverside Street in Portland and the two took the car for a test drive. After the test drive, Landry told the victim to get into the trunk of the car. The victim complied when Landry displayed a Glock .45 caliber handgun. Landry then drove the BMW, with the victim locked inside the trunk, south out of Maine for about eight hours. When he reached Newark, Delaware, Landry stopped the car in a secluded wooded area and released the victim, who ran away and called local police. On May 7, 2013, sheriff deputies in Granville County, North Carolina, arrested Landry, who was driving the BMW, after a high-speed chase. The Glock handgun was seized from the glove compartment of the BMW.
On the interstate kidnapping charge, Landry faces imprisonment of up to life and a fine of up to $250,000. For brandishing the firearm in connection with the kidnapping, Landry faces a minimum mandatory consecutive sentence of seven years’ imprisonment. He will be sentenced after completion of a pre-sentence report by the United States Probation Office.
The investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation; the Portland (Maine), Gorham, Killeen (Texas), and Newark (Delaware) Police Departments; and the Granville County (North Carolina) Sheriff’s Office.
According to court records, in mid-April 2013, Landry responded to an advertisement in Craigslist for the sale of a BMW automobile. On the evening of April 24, Landry met with the BMW’s owner at a location on Riverside Street in Portland and the two took the car for a test drive. After the test drive, Landry told the victim to get into the trunk of the car. The victim complied when Landry displayed a Glock .45 caliber handgun. Landry then drove the BMW, with the victim locked inside the trunk, south out of Maine for about eight hours. When he reached Newark, Delaware, Landry stopped the car in a secluded wooded area and released the victim, who ran away and called local police. On May 7, 2013, sheriff deputies in Granville County, North Carolina, arrested Landry, who was driving the BMW, after a high-speed chase. The Glock handgun was seized from the glove compartment of the BMW.
On the interstate kidnapping charge, Landry faces imprisonment of up to life and a fine of up to $250,000. For brandishing the firearm in connection with the kidnapping, Landry faces a minimum mandatory consecutive sentence of seven years’ imprisonment. He will be sentenced after completion of a pre-sentence report by the United States Probation Office.
The investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation; the Portland (Maine), Gorham, Killeen (Texas), and Newark (Delaware) Police Departments; and the Granville County (North Carolina) Sheriff’s Office.
Chris Cippolini Discusses "Diary of a Motor City Hitman: The Chester Wheeler Campbell Story" on #CrimeBeatRadio
On August 29th
, Chris Cippolini, author of Diary of a Motor City Hit Man: The Chester Wheeler Campbell Story, appears on Crime Beat Radio
Crime Beat is a weekly hour-long radio program that airs every Thursday at 8 p.m. EST. Crime Beat presents fascinating topics that bring listeners closer to the dynamic underbelly of the world of crime. Guests have included ex-mobsters, undercover law enforcement agents, sports officials, informants, prisoners, drug dealers and investigative journalists, who have provided insights and fresh information about the world’s most fascinating subject: crime.
, Chris Cippolini, author of Diary of a Motor City Hit Man: The Chester Wheeler Campbell Story, appears on Crime Beat Radio
Crime Beat is a weekly hour-long radio program that airs every Thursday at 8 p.m. EST. Crime Beat presents fascinating topics that bring listeners closer to the dynamic underbelly of the world of crime. Guests have included ex-mobsters, undercover law enforcement agents, sports officials, informants, prisoners, drug dealers and investigative journalists, who have provided insights and fresh information about the world’s most fascinating subject: crime.
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