A federal judge has sentenced an eastern Illinois man to a year and a day in prison for laundering more than $6 million from an illegal gambling operation and structuring bank deposits to avoid detection.
Federal prosecutors say 66-year-old Jimmy LaCost of Kankakee must report to prison on Jan. 7. His son, 43-year-old Michael LaCost of Kankakee, was sentenced to a year of probation in home confinement with electronic monitoring. The two men, along with LaCost Amusements, Inc., also were ordered to forfeit $4.3 million in illegal gambling proceeds, nine properties and 300 illegal gambling machines.
Jurors found Jimmy LaCost guilty of 54 counts of structuring financial transactions and one count of money laundering. LaCost and his son also pleaded guilty to conducting an illegal gambling business.
