Feds Seize Lamborghini in Scarsdale, over $1.3 mm in Crypto, and Cash on Alleged Gambino-Linked Operation
NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y. (April 29, 2026) — Louis Apicella, a 50-year-old New Rochelle resident and alleged associate of the Gambino Crime Family, is facing up to 20 years in federal prison as one of more than 30 defendants charged in a wide-ranging organized crime case built around a scheme to rig high-stakes illegal poker games across the United States — a case in which federal prosecutors have already seized a 2024 Lamborghini Urus (MSRP 250,000), more than $250,000 in cash, and nearly $400,000 in cryptocurrency (1.965545 Bitcoin, 100.878820 Ethereum).
Apicella, known as “Lou Ap” and “Sloppy Louie,” is a named defendant in United States v. Aiello et al., Case No. 25-CR-314, pending before U.S. District Judge Ramon E. Reyes Jr. in the Eastern District of New York. Federal prosecutors allege he was a key member of what the indictment calls the “Cheating Teams” — operatives who used modified automatic card shuffling machines and x-ray poker tables to secretly read cards and relay information to confederates at the table.
The scheme, according to court filings, ran from at least 2019 through 2024, targeted victims in Manhattan, the Hamptons, Las Vegas and Miami, and defrauded those victims of millions of dollars.
The Face Cards
Part of what made the operation work, prosecutors say, was star power. Former NBA player and coach Damon Jones — who pleaded guilty April 28 in federal court in Brooklyn — was used as a so-called “Face Card,” a celebrity whose presence lent legitimacy to the games and enticed wealthy targets, referred to internally as “whales” or “fish,” to participate. Former NBA star Chauncey Billups is also a named defendant.
Jones admitted at his plea hearing that he both recruited victims and participated directly in cheating at the table. His case involves losses exceeding $10 million across the poker scheme and a separate NBA insider betting conspiracy.
Apicella’s alleged role was more hands-on. Court filings describe him as a participant in a June 2023 game in East Hampton, N.Y., in which he and co-defendants Tony Goodson and Robert Stroud used a tampered shuffling machine to defraud two victims of $46,500 and $105,000 respectively, before laundering the proceeds through a money-laundering network.
What the Government Is Seeking
In a Bill of Particulars filed March 6, 2026, and a Supplemental Bill of Particulars filed March 20, prosecutors detailed 17 categories of assets they are seeking to forfeit.
Eleven JPMorgan Chase bank accounts, held in the names of various LLCs, were seized Oct. 23, 2025 — the day of the mass arrest. A 12th account, at Bank of America and held in the name of co-defendant Thomas Gelardo, contained approximately $493,000. Across all 12 accounts, the government is seeking to recover approximately $860,000.
Also seized that same October morning in Scarsdale, N.Y.: one 2024 Lamborghini Urus. Cash seizures include approximately $221,758 recovered in Scarsdale and another $28,115 seized in East Northport, N.Y.
The government is also seeking just under two Bitcoin — worth approximately $151,680 at current market prices — along with approximately 100.9 Ethereum, currently valued at around $233,500. The original March 6 filing listed the Ethereum amount incorrectly, using the same figure as the Bitcoin seizure. The March 20 Supplemental corrected the record, listing the actual Ethereum seizure at 100.878820 ETH.
Combined, the bank accounts, cash and cryptocurrency represent well over $1.3 million in liquid assets — in addition to the Lamborghini.
Plea Negotiations Underway
The case is moving toward resolution for at least some defendants. In a status letter filed March 3, 2026, prosecutors told Judge Reyes that formal plea agreements were expected to go out to 12 defendants within days and that productive conversations were underway with at least nine others. Jones’s guilty plea this week confirmed that those negotiations have borne fruit.
Apicella falls within the universe of defendants whose cases are under active discussion. The March 3 letter was filed across the entire docket, meaning Apicella and his retained attorney, Shakira Fantauzzi, are part of the ongoing process.
The next status conference is expected sometime between early May and early June 2026, approximately 60 to 90 days after the March 4 conference. No trial date has been set.
A Familiar Name in New Rochelle
Apicella spent 17 years on the New Rochelle school district payroll as a painter-working foreman before being pushed out in 2018 following a confrontation over time theft. He was arrested that same year by New York State Police during an I-95 traffic stop on drug charges — a stop that reportedly gave rise to his nickname “Sloppy Louie.”
In January 2022, following his arraignment in New Rochelle City Court on unrelated theft charges, Apicella allegedly followed Talk of the Sound editor Robert Cox out of the courthouse and attempted to strike him with a vehicle at the intersection of Garden Street and North Avenue, missing by approximately one foot. He pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct for that incident in November 2023, receiving a one-year conditional discharge.
In August 2025, weeks before the federal indictment was unsealed, Nassau County police stopped Apicella and recovered an expandable metal baton and a switchblade knife from his vehicle (the case is no longer in the e-Courts database).
He was released on a $100,000 bond over prosecutors’ objections following his federal arraignment in October 2025.
Cryptocurrency values cited in this article are approximate and based on market prices as of the morning of April 29, 2026. All defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
This article was prepared with the assistance of AI tools under the direction and editing of Robert Cox.
Have information about this story? Email robertcox@talkofthesound (preferred) or contact via WhatsApp: +353 089 972 0669.
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