Burr Ridge Restaurateur Fights To Be Free, Notes His Work In Community

BURR RIDGE, IL – Federal prosecutors are asking a judge to detain Burr Ridge restaurateur Filippo "Gigi" Rovito until his trial, but his lawyers are fighting that request.

The 52-year-old Rovito, owner of Burr Ridge's Capri Ristorante and Are We Live lounge, was indicted last month as part of a northwest Indiana-based gambling ring.

In a brief last week, Rovito's attorney, Thomas Breen, said his client's business depends on the owner.

"Without his daily presence, Capri does not run," Breen wrote. "Vendors do not extend credit to a closed restaurant. A kitchen of that size does not supervise itself. Within weeks of Mr. Rovito's extended absence, Capri would close, and approximately 100 employees – together with the families who depend on them – would lose their work."

Breen also said Rovito has personally delivered checks to the families of officers shot in the line of duty. And Rovito caters the Chicago Police Department's Christmas party every year and donates Thanksgiving turkeys to the Burr Ridge Police Department, the lawyer said.

Rovito also sponsored a memorial luncheon that fed 700 Chicago police officers grieving the killing of Officer Ella French, Breen said.

"He has no foreign assets or relations and no incentive to abandon the good life he has built," Breen said.

Rovito's Burr Ridge house is assessed at $1.3 million, according to DuPage County records.

Breen begins his brief by saying prosecutors allege two things – Rovito walked into a casino looking for a man he could not find and that he sent a single text message asking about betting numbers.

The attorney said prosecutors are not alleging that Rovito collected money, made a threat, harmed anyone, possessed a weapon or directed a single fellow defendant.

Rovito was charged with operating an illegal gambling business and conspiring to collect extensions of credit by extortionate means.

At a Florida casino in 2024, Rovito looked for a man who owed a $30,000 gambling debt on behalf of the ring's alleged leader, James "Jimmy the Greek" Gerodemos, prosecutors said.

During a simultaneous meeting at Capri Ristorante, Gerodemos told the others that Rovito stated he would "knock" the victim's "lights out and shove his head into a machine," prosecutors said.

Rovito, who grew up in Berwyn, has owned and operated Capri Ristorante for 22 years, his lawyer said.

At 5:30 a.m. every morning, Rovito arrives at the restaurant to clean, take vendor deliveries and prepare for service, his lawyer said. With many other responsibilities, Rovito does not leave until 10 p.m., Breen said. Rovito's wife, Antonella, works alongside him.

The lawyer's brief refers to Capri Ristorante as a "concrete, verifiable anchor to this community."

In a footnote, Breen referred to Rovito's criminal record. The conduct underlying his record is 35 years old, with registration matters in 2003 and 2004, the attorney said.

According to Burr Ridge police, Rovito is a convicted felon with multiple convictions.

Court records show the victim of the 17-year-old Rovito's 1991 sex crime was a 14-year-old girl. He was released from prison in 2002 after about five years, police said.

Rovito has been behind bars since last Wednesday, according to the U.S. attorney's office in northern Indiana. A hearing was set for late Monday afternoon.

Capri Ristorante's last social post with video of Rovito was on April 26. As of Monday, his restaurant remained open.