ICYMI: Newton Wife of Convicted Bookie Sentenced for Hiding Funds

NEWTON, MA – The wife of a convicted bookmaker and loan shark with purported connections to Boston's criminal underworld was sentenced Monday after pleading guilty to hiding funds in offshore accounts to evade forfeiture by the government.

Rafia Feghi, 69, of Newton, was sentenced to one year and two days in prison and all of the funds in a Liechtenstein bank account -- now worth more than $1 million -- were seized by the United States government, the U.S. Attorney's office said. Feghi pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud the United States and to obstruct justice.

Authorities say Feghi hid hundreds of thousands of dollars for her husband, Joseph Yerardi, Jr., over a period of more than 25 years. Yerardi was sentenced in 1995 on a federal racketeering charge in connection with an illegal bookmaking, gambling and loansharking enterprise.

According to court documents, Yerardi allegedly paid "rent" to Whitey Bulger and the Winter Hill Gang, and in exchange, he was allowed to conduct his business in the greater Boston area.

Yerardi was arrested again earlier this year for his alleged role in an illegal gambling operation.

His wife, Feghi, was convicted herself of money laundering in 2009, according to the U.S. Attorney's office. Authorities say she used multiple accounts under various names, first in Canada, and eventually in Liechtenstein, to evade a $916,000 forfeiture order and $50,000 fine imposed on Yerardi as part of his 1995 sentencing.

Six years ago, the government of Liechtenstein informed the U.S. government about a suspicious account controlled by Feghi that contained more than $800,000; Liechstenstein subsequently froze the account and the United States sought to forfeit the money, the U.S. Attorney's office said.

Feghi and her associates were accused of lying to officials in Liechtenstein and the United States from 2010 to July of this year in order to hide the true ownership and source of the funds.

She pleaded guilty on Monday.

>>>Editor's Note: This report was written using information provided by the U.S. Attorney's office in Massachusetts.

Image via Shutterstock

Story originally published September 27.