Naperville police seize $25,000, 3 luxury cars during illegal poker ring bust
Thirteen people accused of participating in illegal poker games in Naperville are facing charges related to gambling, authorities said Thursday.
Investigators broke up the gambling ring Wednesday night at a former pain clinic on the 1100 block of East Ogden Avenue, where they took 12 men and one woman into custody, recovered about $25,000 and seized three luxury cars.
Naperville police Cmdr. Lou Cammiso said the recovered rides include a 2011 Porsche Panamera, a 2014 Mercedes E63 AMG and a 2015 Lamborghini Huracan.
"The Lamborghini was so expensive and new we didn't even tow it," he said. "They didn't want to take the risk so we actually drove it back to the police station."
Cammiso said the department began looking into the poker operation about five months ago after a resident complained.
When officers executed a search warrant Wednesday with help from the DuPage Metropolitan Enforcement Group, they found evidence of gambling, such as poker tables, poker chips and ledgers.
They also found four people in possession of controlled substances, and Cammiso said more charges are expected by early next week. Cammiso said three of the men found with drugs had "user amounts, not dealer amounts" of cocaine, while a fourth had a small amount of Vicodin.
Charges against the people accused of gambling vary in severity. The following have been charged as of Thursday afternoon:
• Vu Trong Hoang, 36, of Chicago; Aki Nakagawa, 33, of Chicago; Kevin L. Janowiak, 53, of Mount Prospect; and Phillip L. Nguyen, 43, of Naperville were charged with gambling and felony unlawful possession of a controlled substance.
• David A. Mirshak, 37, of Belvidere; Ioannis T. Tsombanidis, 59, of Scottsdale, Arizona; William F. Gutzman, 33, of Bensenville; Daniel B. Wandling, 30, of Chicago; Lawrence P. Costigan, 50, of Palatine; Michael J. Lemberger, 40, of Naperville; and Julian R. Lukban, 40, of Chicago were charged with misdemeanor gambling.
• Amber Ray Lawhead, 33, of Cortland was cited under a city ordinance for gambling.
• Asad Yusuf, 42, of Naperville, was charged on a warrant for failing to appear in court for a traffic violation.
Illinois State Police assisted in the investigation with intelligence information on gambling records.