The alleged leader of a Northwest Indiana gambling ring must wait one week before action is taken on his request for early release.
Another alleged member had his home detention status updated during a Thursday hearing.
Both James “Jimmy the Greek” Gerodemos, of Schererville, and Filippo “Gigi” Rovito, of Burr Ridge, had hearings in the U.S. District Court in Hammond in front of Magistrate Andrew Rodovich Thursday morning.
Gerodemos requested a pretrial release Thursday, but the court rescheduled his hearing for 1:30 p.m. Sept. 22. His defense lawyer, Beau Brindley, said prosecutors filed a 30-page document related to the potential release at about 6 p.m. Wednesday night.
“I need the opportunity to review,” Brindley said outside the federal courthouse Thursday morning. “It’s very specific allegations, and very specific evidence.”
Brindley believes that Gerodemos didn’t commit a crime of violence, and he’s aiming to prove that after looking through the documents.
“The reason that matters is because if it’s not legally a crime of violence, then Jimmy can’t be detained at all based on an allegation of danger,” Brindley said.
According to Post-Tribune archives, an 87-page indictment detailing the alleged gambling and extortion activity between January 2021 and April 2026 named Gerodemos and Dean Gialamas, 61, of Naperville, as leaders of the Gerodemos Gambling Organization, which allegedly ran an illegal gambling ring out of two longtime Northwest Indiana restaurants, Gino’s Steakhouse in Merrillville and Paragon in Hobart. All 22 defendants pleaded not guilty to federal charges in May.
At an 11 a.m. hearing, Rovito’s lawyer, Todd Pugh, requested for his home detention to be removed. Rodovich modified the conditions of Rovito’s home detention, allowing him to travel between 7 a.m. and midnight each day, but he’s restricted to travel within the northern district of Illinois.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Philip Benson said Rovito was still able to run his business during home detention.
Rovito owns Capri Ristorante in Burr Ridge, and Pugh said he might be at the restaurant until about 1 a.m. on Friday and Saturday nights. In those instances, Rodovich told Rovito to ensure he has arrangements where someone else can stay late.
Pugh alleged that, during the home detention, Rovito never broke the rules. He was allowed to leave his house and travel to his restaurant, which Pugh said is about a quarter-mile away from Rovito’s house. Rovito requested permission for anything that required more travel, including weddings.