On Friday, US President Donald Trump granted a complete pardon to Adam Kidan, whose deceptive attempt to acquire SunCruz Casinos led to a business conflict culminating in the 2001 Mafia murder of the company’s founder, Gus Boulis.
Although Kidan was not implicated in the murder itself, he pleaded guilty to charges of fraud, bribery conspiracy, and tax evasion connected to the SunCruz affair, resulting in a sentence of 70 months in prison.
Kidan was a business associate of Jack Abramoff, the infamous lobbyist later convicted of exploiting Native American tribes’ gaming interests. In 2000, they agreed to purchase the SunCruz fleet of casino ships from Boulis for an amount of $147.5 million.
However, it was later revealed that they utilized a forged wire transfer to deceive lenders into thinking they had made a $23 million down payment on SunCruz, enabling them to secure a $60 million loan.
Who Was Gus Boulis?
Boulis, also the founder of the Miami Subs restaurant chain, was a Greek immigrant and self-made millionaire who arrived in North America with nothing, reportedly having jumped ship during his service in the Greek merchant marine.
After amassing wealth in Florida’s restaurant industry, he established SunCruz Casinos in 1994. The company offered “cruises to nowhere,” allowing gamblers to venture into international waters where state gambling regulations were ineffective.
Eventually, federal authorities took notice of SunCruz and prosecuted Boulis under a century-old statute aimed at protecting American shipping from foreign control.
Boulis was accused of hiding the fact that, despite owning and managing SunCruz, he was not yet a US citizen when the casino vessels were purchased and registered, violating the Shipping Act.
As part of a settlement, Boulis agreed to pay $500,000 in fines and divest himself of the SunCruz fleet over the following three years, with Kidan and Abramoff stepping in to buy it while Boulis retained a silent 10% interest.
‘Big Tony’
Shortly after the acquisition, Boulis had a falling out with Abramoff and Kidan. Just days before his death, there were allegations that Boulis attempted to stab Kidan with a pen.
To protect himself, Kidan hired Anthony “Big Tony” Moscatiello and Anthony “Little Tony” Ferrari for security at SunCruz after tensions with Boulis escalated. Prosecutors later identified these men as associates of the Gambino crime family.
Authorities claimed that Moscatiello and Ferrari feared Boulis aimed to regain control of SunCruz, orchestrating his murder through mob associate John “J.J.” Gurino to safeguard their lucrative security agreement.
Boulis was shot dead in February 2001 while seated in his car in downtown Fort Lauderdale.
Aftermath
Moscatiello and Ferrari received life sentences for their roles in the murder, with Kidan testifying against them during the trial. Gurino was later killed by a deli owner in Boca Raton in an unrelated incident.
After serving his time and being released in 2009, Kidan established a thriving staffing business and became a prominent Republican donor. In just the 2025-26 election cycle, he and his wife contributed nearly $1 million to Republican initiatives, according to election records.
The pardon also appears to nullify Kidan’s remaining $21.7 million federal restitution obligation stemming from the SunCruz fraud conviction, as reported by the Florida Bulldog.