Chicago – Attorney General Kwame Raoul announced that a Joliet man and a Wilmington man pleaded guilty and were sentenced to prison for burglarizing businesses and stealing cash from video poker machines. The plea is part of an ongoing burglary case Raoul announced in 2022 following a joint investigation with the Illinois Gaming Board, the Illinois State Police (ISP) and several local law enforcement agencies.
Gino Wuttke, 33, of Joliet, Illinois, was sentenced to eight years in prison in Lee County Circuit Court after pleading guilty to one count each of Class 1 Felony Theft and Class 2 Felony Burglary. In April, co-defendant Brian Morgan, 42, of Plainfield, Illinois, was sentenced to nine years in prison for his role in the burglary ring.
Lucas Bailey, 41, of Wilmington, Illinois, was sentenced to three years in prison in Lake County Circuit Court after pleading guilty to one count of Class 2 Felony Burglary. Bailey is currently in prison, serving a separate sentence in connection to unrelated charges.
“Members of this burglary ring allegedly targeted bars, restaurants, social clubs and other small businesses that have video poker and video gaming machines. They broke into dozens of these establishments in multiple counties and stole hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash out of the machines,” Raoul said. “This case is the result of countless hours of collaboration between my office and several law enforcement agencies. I would like to thank these agencies for their hard work investigating this burglary ring and assisting in holding the members responsible accountable.”
In August 2022, the Attorney General’s office filed charges against a total of six individuals, including Wuttke and Bailey, alleging they broke into businesses around Illinois and robbed video gaming machines, stealing approximately $400,000.
“As today’s two guilty pleas further demonstrate, the Illinois Gaming Board, Illinois Attorney General’s office, Illinois State Police and other law enforcement agencies statewide worked together to successfully bring to justice those involved in this video gaming burglary ring,” said Illinois Gaming Board Administrator Marcus Fruchter. “The Gaming Board will continue to work closely with its law enforcement partners to safeguard the integrity and safety of Illinois gaming.”
The Attorney General’s office received support in its investigation from the Illinois Gaming Board and several law enforcement agencies, including the ISP, the DuPage County State’s Attorney’s office, the Lake County State’s Attorney’s office, the Joliet Police Department and the Bureau, DeKalb, Grundy, Iroquois, Kendall and LaSalle county sheriffs.
“Illinois State Police Division of Criminal of Investigation special agents will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to fully investigate criminal acts and assist the Attorney General’s office in bringing those who break the law to justice,” said ISP Director Brendan F. Kelly.
Raoul’s Statewide Grand Jury Bureau is authorized by Illinois statute to prosecute multi-county cases involving drugs, money laundering, guns or electronics. Working regularly with state and federal counterparts, the bureau focuses on complex, often large-scale, organized criminal activity.
Deputy Bureau Chief Andrew Whitfield prosecuted the cases for Raoul’s Statewide Grand Jury Bureau.
