Man who brought massive gambling ring to Illinois State University avoids prison
The youngest person charged in connection with a massive international gambling ring, who was accused by the feds of running a "significant bookmaking operation" at Illinois State University, dodged prison during his sentencing hearing Tuesday.
Instead, U.S. District Judge Virginia Kendall gave six months of home confinement and a $10,000 fine to 25-year-old Matthew Namoff.
Federal prosecutors say Vincent "Uncle Mick" DelGiudice groomed Namoff and made him an equal partner in the larger gambling ring DelGiudice ran online.
DelGiudice admitted earlier this year that he ran the larger bookmaking business from 2016 to 2019 in and around Chicago. Namoff, who pleaded guilty in April, is the seventh person to be sentenced in a series of related cases that have been filed since early 2020.
Two of the six people previously sentenced landed prison time, but four others avoided it. Another defendant, Mettawa Mayor Casey Urlacher, was pardoned in January by then-President Donald Trump.
• This report was produced in partnership with the Chicago Sun-Times. For related coverage, visit chicago.suntimes.com.