Outfit-connected restaurateur Gigi Rovito has potential new legal problems even beyond the gambling and extortion charges he faces in northwest Indiana.
At issue this week are questions about claims made by the Burr Ridge celebrity chef in his effort to be freed on bond from federal custody.
“Thou shall not lie about your church” is a core belief at Our Lady of Pompeii Shrine in Little Italy. As Gigi Rovito was trying to get out on bond in a federal organized crime case, he described himself in court documents as a longtime, active member of the parish, and even as a recipient of the church’s “Man of the Year” award.
Needless to say, the parish staff must have been puzzled, because they said none of it was true.
When the Outfit-linked restaurateur Rovito was arrested, the government wanted him held without bond. But prosecutors dropped their demand to detain Rovito when he offered a $1 million cash bond. In a concurrent filing, he portrayed himself as a solid citizen.
“He and his wife are active members of Our Lady of Pompeii Church, where he was named Man of the Year,” the filing said.
The court motion even included a photo of Rovito and his wife with the pastor.
Burr Ridge Mayor Gary Grasso is standing behind his friend Chef Gigi Rovito, who is accused of being an enforcer for an illegal gambling ring. Chuck Goudie has the story.
The judge granted Rovito’s motion for release from jail, and put him on an electronic monitor, allowing him to leave home only for his work at Capri Ristorante…despite the fact that Capri figured into some of the charges against him.
And then this week came a new motion requesting Rovito be allowed out for three hours to attend Mass every Sunday, restating that “Mr. Rovito is a practicing Catholic and a longtime member of his parish community. The regular practice of his faith, including attendance at Sunday Mass, is a central part of his life and is important to his spiritual well-being.”
Again prosecutors didn’t object, but now, the church is pushing back.
An official of the parish told NBC 5 Investigates that Rovito’s church involvement amounts to writing an annual check, and that it’s laughable he claims to be a weekly parishioner because quote “he never comes to church. He’s never seen in church.”
And as for that “Man of the Year Award” Rovito claims in court documents to have received? He didn’t get it according to the parish, because they don’t have such an award.
That isn’t the only apparent overstatement of Rovito’s community stature. Rovito also claims that “every Thanksgiving he donates turkeys to the Burr Ridge Police Department.” But at Burr Ridge police headquarters, the chief told us Rovito does not donate turkeys every year and actually provided them only once, at least six years ago.
Providing false information in a court filing is not to be laughed off, according to former federal prosecutor Ron Safer, a frequent NBC Chicago legal analyst. Safer says it amounts to what’s known as a “fraud of the court,” and he argues prosecutors should now move to revoke Rovito’s bond and send him back to jail.
The U.S. Attorney declined comment about that idea. Shortly after the 6 p.m. version of this story aired, NBC 5 Investigates received a lengthy statement from Rovito’s attorneys, who say that Rovito and his wife were married at the parish and are longtime financial supporters of the church, including an extensive renovation being unveiled this Sunday.
The letter, written by Messrs. Tom Breen and Todd Pugh who represent Mr. Rovito, widely addresses the case against Rovito:
“There are 22 defendants in this federal case. Each is presumed innocent. Each is entitled to a fair and impartial jury. An indictment, as a matter of law, is not evidence and creates no inference of guilt. A headline asserting as established fact that “the FBI says” our client took money for a crime he was never charged with — anchored to an investigation that ended thirteen years ago without an indictment — is not journalism. It is prejudicial press, timed for maximum effect at the moment the jury pool begins to form…
“And even taking the indictment at face value — which the law does not require — it does not allege Mr. Rovito committed or threatened violence against anyone. As his attorneys, we have copiously reviewed every communication between our client and James Gerodemos. Over a year and a half of texts and calls, there is not a single threat. Not one. The messages are polite. They reference, at worst, a handful of football games that Mr. Rovito wagered on. The indictment’s more colorful allegations against Mr. Rovito are not drawn from his communications at all — they are drawn from Mr. Gerodemos’s narrations about Mr. Rovito to other people. The indictment also names Mr. Rovito in only six of twenty-eight counts. He is not alleged to have threatened, harmed, or attempted harm upon any individual. We will share our review with any competent and unbiased journalist who asks.
“If NBC wants to write about Mr. Rovito, there is a real story available. He and his wife were married at Our Lady of Pompeii. They support the parish’s annual fundraiser, Under the Stars. This Sunday the church will unveil an extensive renovation financed by its parishioners — the Rovitos among them. The scare quotes around ‘man of the year’ in your piece tell your readers more about your tone than about Mr. Rovito. Our motion to permit him to attend Mass is unopposed by the government. NBC apparently has more reservations than the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
“Mr. Rovito’s criminal record dates to his teenage years. Those convictions — particularly the Maywood matter, about which the entire Illinois defense bar later learned facts that bear directly on its legitimacy — are being reexamined. He served his sentence. He came out, worked for years as a busboy, and now owns a restaurant at the center of community life in Burr Ridge. He earned his liquor license at a public hearing, over the objections of residents — including a former village trustee you have quoted in your coverage — who decided a convicted felon could never amount to anything. He has proven them wrong.
“He supports the Bo Jackson and Denis Savard foundations. He supports his parish. He supports the law enforcement community when asked or when the cause moves him to act. When Venezuelan refugees were placed in Burr Ridge to the loud displeasure of much of that tony village, it was Gigi Rovito who fed them and their children. He did so quietly, because he is a decent man who gives back — and he did so over the protests of card-carrying members of the NIMBY faith, some of whom are now your sources.
“There is, in short, a story of redemption here. There is also a story about a federal indictment that, as to our client, the evidence will not bear.”
