Office of the Attorney General of Illinois
12/16/2025 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 12/16/2025 16:40
ATTORNEY GENERAL RAOUL ANNOUNCES SUBURBAN COOK COUNTY MAN PLEADS GUILTY, SENTENCED TO 10 YEARS IN PRISON FOR ROLE IN STATEWIDE VIDEO GAMING THEFT RING
ATTORNEY GENERAL RAOUL ANNOUNCES SUBURBAN COOK COUNTY MAN PLEADS GUILTY, SENTENCED TO 10 YEARS IN PRISON FOR ROLE IN STATEWIDE VIDEO GAMING THEFT RING
December 16, 2025
Chicago - Attorney General Kwame Raoul announced a suburban Cook County man prosecuted by his office pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 10 years in prison for his participation in a burglary ring that spanned several Illinois counties, ranging from the Chicago area to Central Illinois.
Joseph Montoro, 40, of Berwyn, Illinois, pleaded guilty on Monday to two Class 2 felony counts of burglary and was sentenced to 10 years in prison by DuPage County Circuit Court Judge Mia S. McPherson.
"This sentence is only possible because of the collaboration between my office, the Illinois Gaming Board and the many law enforcement agencies that participated in this complex investigation," Raoul said. "I look forward to continuing these partnerships that hold offenders accountable for engaging in criminal enterprises that span multiple jurisdictions."
Raoul charged Montoro and four other defendants in August 2024 after an investigation found the five Illinois men worked together to steal over $100,000 from video gaming machines in Cook, Champaign, DeWitt, DuPage, Kane, Kankakee, Kendall, Lake, McLean, Peoria, Tazewell and Will counties. Charges are still pending against the four co-defendants, and the public is reminded that the defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
The Attorney General's investigation and prosecution of the burglary ring is based on a referral from the Illinois Gaming Board (IGB).
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.
Bureau Chief Gregg Gansmann is prosecuting these cases for Raoul's Statewide Grand Jury Bureau.
Office of the Attorney General of Illinois published this content on December 16, 2025, and is solely responsible for the information contained herein. Distributed via Public Technologies (PUBT), unedited and unaltered, on December 16, 2025 at 22:40 UTC. If you believe the information included in the content is inaccurate or outdated and requires editing or removal, please contact us at [email protected]