Last four members of Iannelli gambling operation sentenced

The final four people charged last year for their alleged roles in the Iannelli gambling ring that operated throughout western Pennsylvania were sentenced Friday to serve one year probation terms as part of a deal with prosecutors in which their criminal records could ultimately be expunged.

Each of the four, described in court as minor players in the sports betting and numbers running operation, were admitted into the Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition program for nonviolent offenders. The program does not require defendants to plead guilty.

Kathryn A. Ayers, 49, of East Pittsburgh, her mother, Kathryn Venturini, 74, of North Huntingdon, Vincent Rapneth, 62, of Verona and Levi Helsel, 28, of Pittsburgh, each was charged in connection with the gambling ring based in Allegheny and Westmoreland counties in 2016 and 2017 and broken up last year following a wiretap investigation and grand jury probe.

Venturini, Rapneth and Helsel were charged with felony counts of participating in a corrupt organization as well as conspiracy counts and operation of illegal lotteries. Ayers faced counts of conspiracy and running lotteries.

Deputy Attorney General Mark Serge described all four as minor players in the gambling ring he said netted about $350,000 during the course of the investigation.

“They were office workers who got paid $300 a week for accepting wagers and passing them on,” Serge said of the women.

Rapneth and Helsel served as runners who would collect bets and forward them to the women, according to prosecutors.

Westmoreland County Common Pleas Court Judge Meagan Bilik-DeFazio ordered each to one-year probation terms. Serge said he would consent to allow the early termination of probation after six months providing that all court costs are paid and they remain crime free.

Friday’s sentences end the case in which state agents filed charges against 13 members of the gambling ring including it’s 90-year-old leader, Robert “Bobby I” Iannelli of Pittsburgh and his son, Rodney “Rusty” Iannelli, 60, of Wexford. Prosecutors said Robert Iannelli long has had ties to Pittsburgh’s former LaRocca-Genovese organized crime family and had gambling-related arrests dating back to the 1950s. He has since been prosecuted for his involvement in multimillion-dollar illegal sports wagering operations in the 1970s and 1990s.

The Iannellis and three others pleaded guilty earlier this week for their roles in the gambling operation. Both Iannelli and his son were ordered to jointly pay $300,000 in court costs and forfeitures and sentenced to serve 10 years on probation Their probation terms could be cut short once their payments are complete, prosecutors said.

Four others were sentenced to probation terms in July for their roles in the gambling ring.