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Ron Paul See other Ron Paul Articles Title: Feds: Ex-mobster used Toby Keith and Rascal Flatts restaurants in nationwide fraud scheme Feds: Ex-mobster used Toby Keith and Rascal Flatts restaurants in nationwide fraud scheme Robert Anglen, Arizona Republic 9 hrs ago Mafia soldier Frank Capri behind Rascal Flatts restaurant failures Arizona businessman Frank Capri used restaurant licensing deals with country superstars Toby Keith and Rascal Flatts as a lure to defraud developers nationwide, federal authorities say. Capri enlisted his mother and other associates to funnel money meant to pay for restaurant construction at malls into their own accounts, according to indictments made public on Thursday. Authorities said they used fraudulent paperwork, fabricated contractors, forged signatures and false notary stamps to convince developers work was progressing on projects when it wasn't. The indictments come after an ongoing investigation by The Arizona Republic that began in 2015. The Republic documented how Capri negotiated deals to build Toby Keith and Rascal Flatts restaurants throughout the United States, then took millions of dollars earmarked for contractors and walked away. The indictments don't mention Capri's background as a former soldier in the New York City Mafia. In 2017, The Republic identified Capri as Frank Gioia Jr., a "made man" in the notorious Lucchese crime family who was given a new identity through the Federal Witness Protection Program. WITNESS PROTECTION: Who protects the public from protected witnesses? The Arizona U.S. Attorney's Office on Friday declined to answer questions about Capri's status in the witness protection program. "Unfortunately, the questions posed would require answers that are outside the public record," spokesman Glenn McCormick said in an email. "Defendants are presumed innocent and comments that go outside the record can have a prejudicial effect on them, as well as potentially harm the government’s efforts to prove the case." Capri was arrested Wednesday and remains in custody pending a Feb. 11 hearing. He pleaded not guilty during an arraignment before U.S. Magistrate Michelle Burns. Capri, 52, of Scottsdale, faces five counts of wire fraud, nine counts of transactional money laundering and two counts of conspiracy. He was charged along with his mother, Debbie Corvo, 68, of Cave Creek, and former business partner Chris Burka, who last year told The Republic he was living in Florida. READ DOCUMENT: Indictment vs. Frank Capri, Debbie Corvo and Chris Burka The collapse of Toby Keith restaurants The Republic's investigation found Capri's company, Boomtown Entertainment, built 20 Toby Keith restaurants beginning in 2009 and announced plans to build 20 more that never opened. It closed 19 restaurants in about 18 months beginning in 2013. Even as restaurants went under, Capri was announcing plans to open new ones that never got built. By 2017, judges in cities across the country ordered him or his companies to pay at least $65 million in civil judgments. It is unclear how many judgments were paid or settled. Federal authorities don't name Toby Keith or Rascal Flatts in the indictment, which lists them by the initials TK and RF and refers to them as the "branded restaurants." Authorities said Capri might have been the owner, but the businesses were not actually in his name. "Despite Capri's control and ownership of the various businesses, he is not formally listed as the owner on relevant incorporation and trust documentation associated with the businesses," according to the indictment. "The majority of the businesses are listed in the name of Capri's mother ... or other nominees with ties to Capri." Court records show part of the deal Gioia made with federal prosecutors when he agreed to turn state's evidence included new identities for his family. A report prepared by private investigators as a part of a 2007 Maricopa County court case detailed Capri's entry into the witness protection program along with his father, mother, sister and brother-in-law. Feds: Fabricated construction records According to the indictment, Capri in 2011 directed Boomtown employees to begin fabricating construction records for the Toby Keith restaurants in order to pull out money for what are known as tenant improvements. Boomtown employees referred to the bogus paperwork as "arts and crafts," according to the indictment. "Between March 2012 and November 2014, Boomtown entered into approximately 24 lease agreements that entitled Boomtown to approximately $64,802,029.66 in T.I. funds for the construction of the (Toby Keith) restaurant locations," federal prosecutors said in the indictment. "After obtaining the T.I. fund deposits, Capri diverted money for his personal use including to make payments to Corvo and other family members," prosecutors said. Boomtown quickly became insolvent, authorities said. "Boomtown was not able to cover costs and as a result, there were frequent construction delays on every project during which time Capri would not pay rent to property developers," prosecutors said in the indictment. "Capri would not pay to continue operating opened (Toby Keith restaurants) including taxes, and often stopped paying ongoing construction and maintenance costs." In a 2017 letter to The Republic, Capri denied pocketing development money and described the Toby Keith closures as nothing "other than the product of a business failure." © Courtesy of WKYC Arizona businessman Frank Capri apparently orchestrated the collapse of Rascal Flatts restaurants in cities across the country, including one in Cleveland, according to an investigation by The Arizona Republic. Laying out the Rascal Flatts scheme Capri also was behind the financial ruin of 19 Rascal Flatts restaurant projects, The Republic reported in 2019. Capri's name does not appear on corporate documents tied to the Rascal Flatts restaurants. But working from behind the scenes, he oversaw hiring, firing, employee payments, permits, construction schedules and collection of development fees. Secretly recorded audiotapes of Capri's phone calls provided a vivid picture of his role. In the profanity-laced recordings obtained by The Republic, Capri threatens and intimidates developers in an attempt to squeeze cash out of the Rascal Flatts projects. Capri used Tawny Costa, his longtime girlfriend and the mother of two of his children, to front the projects. Costa and Burka were listed as managers on corporation filings for RF Restaurants, the Las Vegas-based company that owned and operated the restaurant projects. Costa admitted in March to serving as Capri's front for the Rascal Flatts projects. In a series of texts to The Republic, Costa said Capri and Burka set up and secretly ran the restaurant projects in her name. She said they manipulated her into putting her name on corporation and business records for restaurants. "They came to me after months of arguing over operating agreements and wanted to put me as manager so that neither of them had full control," she said in one of the March 13 texts. Post Comment Private Reply Ignore Thread
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