About this app
How to play Live European Roulette
The mayor said he was not aware of the contributions before the publication actually got in touch with him.
“Given the pending Indiana case, I have asked my Treasurer to return the donations,” Grasso said in an email to Patch. His campaign reported the contributions to the Illinois State Board of Elections on September 14.
Rovito was among 22 people indicted in April in a federal case involving an alleged illegal gambling operation in northwest Indiana.
How to play Live European Roulette
The Commission launched its investigation into various reports of insider betting on the election date in June 2024 after Ladbrokes flagged a bet placed by Williams, who was recorded as a politically exposed person.
Further bets flagged by operators involved other politically sensitive individuals, including Metropolitan Police officers and political advisers. The Commission charged 15 people total in April 2025. Four have now pleaded guilty.
The offences relate to special betting markets that let customers wager on the exact date of the general election.
About Live European Roulette
The restaurateur donated $5,000 to Grasso’s unsuccessful 2018 campaign for Illinois attorney general in November 2017, but Grasso returned the money the following month after a TV station questioned the contribution, according to Patch.
Grasso was quick to defend Rovito following his arrest, describing him as “a stellar corporate and residential citizen” who has “a YouTube following of a quarter of a million people or something like that.”
Rovito, meanwhile, was such a fan of the mayor that he named a dish after him— “Linguini alla Mayor Grasso”—a pasta that comes with “fresh tomato sauce and basil, tossed with a touch of olive oil, and topped with fresh ricotta.”
