Who is Lewis Kasman? Man whose refusal to wear sports jacket landed him in hot water was mob informant
DELRAY BEACH — At Mizner County Club, Lewis Kasman is known as the person who refused to wear a sports jacket at a Hanukkah dinner in December 2018, spawning contentious litigation that upheld the right of the club to revoke his guest privileges and his right to use the amenities there.
But what many of the residents at the high-end country club may not know is that Kasman was once an integral part of mobster John Gotti's operation. He was known as the adopted son of the late mobster.
After serving a six-month jail sentence for perjury in 1996, he agreed to wear a wire to record conversations with top mobsters. In exchange for his cooperation, Kasman was spared prison time in 2010 for racketeering and fraud. His information brought down a host of top mobsters, including Peter Gotti and capo Vincent Artuso.
In an interview with the New York Post in 2012, Kasman says Gotti's operation brought in between $500,000 and $1 million per month in cash from construction and garment rackets, extortion, loans, gambling and drugs. Kasman, the former right-hand man to the world’s most recognizable and powerful gangster, sought a deal to put him in witness protection but the plan fell through. So, according to the newspaper, he walks around in dark sunglasses, trailed by two ex-Navy SEALs he’s hired for protection.
More:Gotti ‘son’ Kasman sues lawyers over disputed court order
More:Judge picks fight with ex-mobster; history of conflict with wife
He moved to Delray Beach to live with his mother, Joan Schiff, at Mizner Country Club. And during much of his tenure there, he was involved in litigation alleging that lawyers failed to properly represent him and his wife, Eileen, in a contentious divorce.
In an accompanying story, The Palm Beach Post details how he has left a trail of corruption and misconduct allegations against lawyers involved with the Mizner Country Club’s decision to revoke his guest privileges that barred him from using club facilities. That happened because he refused to wear a sports jacket at a Hanukkah dinner in December 2018. The incident has spawned a number of lawsuits that have yet to be resolved, but the decisions thus far have favored the club.
As far as the Kasman vs. Kasman divorce, Lewis has filed multiple lawsuits that alleged:
Misconduct involving his wife’s lawyer that he claims resulted in him spending nine days in jail for failing to make a payment to his wife. He accused the lawyer of false imprisonment. The case was dismissed.
Misconduct involving two of his former lawyers, claiming they didn’t represent him properly due to undisclosed relationships with the law firm that represented his ex-wife. The case was dismissed.
Malpractice against another set of lawyers for failing to disclose a conflict of interest. The case was dismissed.
Kasman was the subject of national news in January 2015 when he pleaded guilty to grand theft involving a check stolen from a Boca Raton law office that Kasman cashed for $5,297. The sentence did not include any jail time.
Mike Diamond is a journalist at The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. He covers Palm Beach County government and transportation. You can reach him at mdiamond@pbpost.com. Help support local journalism. Subscribe today
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