Konstantinos "Gus" Boulis
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Konstantinos "Gus" Boulis (1950? - February 1, 2001) was a land-developer, casino operator, and restaurant owner of Greek descent, who was murdered in 2001. The murder has been alleged to be in connection with the sale of his company, SunCruz Casinos.
Boulis was born in a Greek fishing village in Greece. He moved to Halifax and then to Toronto in 1968. There Boulis went from a sandwich-maker to a corporate partner in the Mr. Submarine chain.
In 1979, Boulis moved to Florida. He continued his success there in fast food businesses and real estate. He soon began the SunCruz Casinos boat company, a cruise line where ships essentially traveled nowhere but passengers could gamble on the voyage. By 1994, the eleven ships in his fleet had made Boulis worth nearly $100 million (U.S.).
In 2001, Boulis sold SunCruz to Jack Abramoff and Adam Kidan. Soon after, Boulis was shot to death in his car on a Fort Lauderdale street. Anthony Moscatiello[1] and James Fiorillo, both Florida residents, were arrested in late September of 2005 in connection with the murder. Anthony Ferrari was also detained in connection with the killing at the same time in New York. Boulis' murder was featured in a 2005 segment on America's Most Wanted.
On August 11, 2005, Abramoff and Kidan were indicted by a federal grand jury in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on fraud charges relating to a fake $23 million bank transfer as downpayment on the purchase of SunCruz. Kidan pled guilty on December 15, 2005. Abramoff pled guilty on January 4, 2006.
(See also Abramoff-Reed Indian Gambling Scandal.)
[edit] Murder and Subsequent Investigation
Three men have been charged with the 2001 murder of Boulis.
- Anthony "Little Tony" Ferrari age 48 was arrested at his North Miami Beach home on September 25, 2005. He is being held at the Broward County Jail and has been denied bond.
- 28-year-old James "Pudgy" Fiorillo, was arrested on September 26 in Palm Coast. He is being held at the Broward County Jail and has been denied bond.
- Fort Lauderdale homicide detectives arrested Anthony "Big Tony" Moscatiello, 67, at his Howard Beach home in New York late in the day on September 25. He is now awaiting extradition from New York on the same charges as the other two. He was scheduled to appear in a Queens County, N.Y., court on October 7.
Moscatiello and Ferrari have been charged with first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit murder and solicitation to commit murder. Fiorillo was charged with first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder. But further investigations into the murder and possible participants, or sponsors in it, are ongoing, and Abramoff reportedly remains free in part because his cooperation in the investigation is deemed important by federal authorities.
In May 2006, [Adam Kidan] told authorities that Moscatiello and Ferrari confided in Kidan that another Gotti-associate, John Gurino, killed Boulis. Gurino himself was killed in October 2003. Gurino wasn't part of the investigation before Kidan gave authorities the name. [1]
[edit] References
- ^ "Businessman Kidan claims killer of SunCruz Casino founder is dead", South Florida Sun-Sentinel, June 9, 2006.
