Blackjacks strip club

Blackjacks Gentlemens Club in Elgin today. (E. Jason Wambsgans, Chicago Tribune)

The father and son operators of a strip club in Elgin have been hit with federal tax and gambling charges for allegedly failing to report more than $4 million in income and operating an illegal Internet gambling business.

Dominic Buttitta of South Barrington and Anthony Buttitta of St. Charles operate the Blackjacks Gentlemen's Club in Elgin. Between 2002 and 2009, they filed false federal tax returns that "substantially underreported" income from the club and the gambling business, prosecutors allege.

Buttitta and his son received about $3, 704, 959 from “house” fees they collected from women for each shift they worked as dancers at Blackjacks, according to the U.S. attorney's office.

Anthony Buttitta, 42, directed club employees to maintain logs of the house fee collections, but he and his 69-year-old father later destroyed the log sheets, the office said.

They also hid their gambling operation by placing the workers on the payroll of another company "to provide the employees with the appearance of a legitimate source of income and benefits, " prosecutors allege. In return, the father and son received cash kickbacks from their gambling workers.

The Buttittas got about $1 million in gross wagers from the gambling business between 2005 and 2009 and made about $400, 000 in net profits, according to the U.S. attorney's office, which is seeking the forfeiture of $400, 000 as illegal proceeds.

The Buttittas used the unreported income to help buy a $2.9 million condominium in Las Vegas and a condominium in Costa Rica, as well as pay off personal credit card bills, prosecutors allege. In 2005 and 2006, Anthony Buttitta used about $400, 000 in cash to pay for a home St. Charles, according to the charges.

Each count carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250, 000 fine, and restitution is mandatory, prosecutors said in a release.

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