Contending MMA Combatant Sentenced to Two Years Imprisonment in Illinois Gang-Related Wagering Scandal
In a courtroom in Chicago, Michael Frontier, a former MMA fighter, was sentenced to two years in prison on April 22, 2024. Frontier pleaded guilty to managing an illegal gambling operation between 2015 and 2016, a part of a broader federal investigation into the Chicago Outfit's street crews in Elmwood Park and Grand Avenue.
Frontier admitted to overseeing a team of five agents who recruited gamblers and collected debts for his pay-per-head betting operation. According to court documents, one gambler testified that when he couldn't pay, Frontier put him in touch with a money lender who subsequently set upon him and beat him.
Federal agents were wiretapping suspected members of the Chicago Outfit, including a relative of reputed Elmwood Park capo and mob bookmaker Joseph "Joe Gags" Gagliano. The investigation targeted major movers in the Outfit's gambling and prostitution rackets.
Michael Frontier's LinkedIn page, which once described him as a clairvoyant, intuitive life coach, reiki master, reflexologist, and keynote speaker, is now deleted. In his 2015 bankruptcy proceedings, Frontier failed to declare his income from illegal gambling.
Despite his past transgressions, Frontier claimed to have turned his life around and changed significantly since quitting the illegal gambling business. He sought to dodge paying a $1.5 million civil judgment as a result of a motorcycle accident by underreporting his income during bankruptcy.
Frontier's statements about being a different person and seeking a second chance were reported by The Chicago Tribune. He apologized to US District Judge John Robert Blakey before sentencing.
In an unexpected twist, after quitting the illegal gambling business in 2016, Frontier is now working for a cannabis company called Verano. Michael Frontier is expecting his first child.
The Chicago Outfit, a powerful and secretive organized crime group active throughout Chicago, has decades-long influence, including in the 1930s and beyond. The Outfit is known for its violence against rivals and law enforcement informants, such as the assassination of Attorney Edward O'Hare in 1939 who had leaked information.
Elmwood Park, a suburb with historical mob connections, experienced a notable triple homicide in 1962 that is linked to organized crime activities, which may involve the Chicago Outfit’s presence there. However, no direct FBI investigation timeline or principal figures associated with such an investigation were found in the results. For a comprehensive timeline and identification of the main individuals involved, it would require consulting specialized law enforcement archives, historical FBI files, or investigative journalism sources focused on organized crime in Chicago.
- Michael Frontier, once part of the Chicago Outfit's illegal sports betting operation, is now working for a cannabis company called Verano.
- The court documents revealed that Frontier was managing an illegal gambling operation between 2015 and 2016, serving as a pay-per-head bookie.
- Frontier's guilty plea was a part of a broader federal investigation into the Outfit's street crews in Elmwood Park and Grand Avenue.
- The investigation also targeted the Outfit's major movers in the gambling and prostitution rackets.
- Despite his past transgressions, Frontier claimed to have changed his ways after quitting the illegal gambling business.
- In the general news and crime-and-justice sections, reports were made about Michael Frontier's two-year prison sentence for his involvement in illegal sports betting.
