Draft:Gary Rovai
Former cardroom manager and restaurant owner (1943-2019)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Gary Craig Rovai (December 9, 1943 - August 24, 2019) was an American cardroom manager and dive bar owner convicted of crimes related to the Garden City Casino skimming scandal.[1]
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December 9, 1943
- Cardroom manager
- Restaurant owner
- Conspiracy to violate campaign disclosure laws (1 felony count)
- Filing false tax returns (4 felony counts)
Gary Rovai | |
|---|---|
| Born | Gary Craig Rovai December 9, 1943 |
| Died | August 24, 2019 (aged 75) San Jose, California, U.S. |
| Occupations |
|
| Criminal charges |
|
| Criminal penalty |
|
| Criminal status | Convicted |
| Spouse |
Lynne Trautman (m. 1980–2019) |
| Children | 3 |
Early life and career
Rovai was born to parents Bruno A. Rovai and Theresa V. Benevento in Santa Clara County, California.[2][3][4][5] Rovai grew up in San Jose, California with a brother and two sisters.[6][7]
In 1955, Rovai was among the six boys of San Jose's local YMCA chapter to attend its 23rd annual Y-Day which was remarked, by The Mercury News as "the biggest single YMCA event in the world". Included in the schedule was a "variety show [at the] Hollywood Bowl featuring Bob Crosby and Robert Cummings" and the 1955 California–UCLA football rivalry game.[8]
By 1965, Rovai served in the United States Army as a Private. Rovai was remarked by General officers J.K. Woolnough and Monk Meyer as "an excellent driver" and "the kind of soldier we like to see in the Army."[9]
In 1979, Rovai was robbed by a "young [white] man [in his early 20s] wearing a ski mask and carrying a revolver" at his home in Scotts Valley, California. The robber took $545, and threatened to cut Rovai with a sharp object if he did not tell where the cash was stored.[10]
In 1996, Rovai and two others founded Goosetown Cafe: a dive bar located in the Willow Glen neighborhood.[11][12] The restaurant occupies what used to be an inn.[13] The restaurant was named after a former San Jose neighborhood called "Goosetown": a neighborhood that used to border east of Willow Glen and was primarily populated by Italian-American immigrants.[14] The cafe hosted local Jazz and Swing music artists during Friday and Weekend Evenings, and is also known for karaoke on the weekends.[13][15]
Involvement in Garden City Casino skimming scandal
On May 6, 1987, Rovai was indicted by the Santa Clara County grand jury on six total felony counts: one count of conspiracy to violate campaign disclosure laws, four counts of filing false tax returns, and one count of perjury. Prosecutors alleged that Rovai "fail[ed] to report [the] skimmed profits as income on state gaming registration forms".[16] When the casino's landlord found out about how the ownership "had taken thousands of dollars before the money could be entered on the books" for him to collect his share of the rent, Rovai, along with a former co-worker, attempted to resolve the issue by admitting that the ownership had been skimming money, and handed Pestana "a check for $218,513.45". Feeling betrayed, the landlord tore up the check.[17]
On April 6, 1993, The jury found Rovai guilty of five felony counts of conspiracy to violate campaign disclosure laws and filing false tax returns. On May 6, 1993, Rovai was sentenced to three years of probation; the first eight months of the sentence was served through electronic monitoring and allowed Rovai to only be either at his home or his workplace.[16][18][19]
On July 29, 1993, Rovai was arrested and taken into custody by a probation officer for a probation violation. Rovai's urine sample "showed an alcohol level of 0.025 – the equivalent of one [alcoholic] drink". Two days later, via hearing, Rovai was released back into the house arrest program.[19]
Between October-December 1993, Rovai, along with a former co-worker, sued Garden City Casino for "fir[ing] them without warning... and reng[ing] on promises to provide financial help with their legal troubles." While indicted, the casino promised to pay "attorney fees and whatever tax liabilities -- plus penalties and interest -- that might accrue from their criminal cases in exchange for them waiving their rights to a jury trial and keep all the related cases together in a plea bargain arrangement in hopes of saving the club's [gaming] license." By the time that the casino was sold to new ownership, Rovai was fired in October 1993. On August 23, 1997, Rovai won $981,703 in punitive and compensatory damages.[20]
In 1994, Rovai appealed the felony convictions to the Sixth District Court of Appeal in San Jose. The appeallate court upheld the convictions in 1996.[21][22]