A Newton Bookie Used Bets, Threats and Extortion for Illegal Gambling

BOSTON – Like a character out of The Sopranos, a Newton man, who led a large bookmaking business that made hundreds of thousands of dollars through bets, threats and extortion, was sentenced to seven years in federal prison today for extortion and illegal gambling, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

U.S. District Court Judge Denise J. Casper on Friday sentenced Joseph Yerardi, 62, of Newton, to seven years in prison followed by three years of supervised release. Yerardi also was ordered to forfeit over $68,000 in cash recovered in searches or from bank accounts in Yerardi’s name, as well as 30 fake luxury watches and a money judgment order against Yerardi for $300,000.

In December 2016, Yerardi pleaded guilty to conducting an illegal gambling business, conspiring to make and making extortionate extensions of credit, and conspiring to collect and collecting extensions of credit by extortionate means.

Investigators said Yerardi was the head of a large bookmaking business that made hundreds of thousands of dollars and used threats or other extortionate means to collect debts. Among other things, a debtor reported that Yerardi threatened to stab the debtor “twenty times” for not paying a gambling debt.

In 2009, Yerardi was convicted in federal court in Boston of racketeering, conducting an illegal gambling business, money laundering, and collection of credit by extortionate means, and sentenced to 100 months in prison.

In 1995, Yerardi was convicted in federal court in Boston of racketeering, extortionate extensions of credit, collection of credit by extortionate means, money laundering, conducting an illegal gambling business and witness intimidation, and sentenced to 135 months in prison.