Jury convicts killer of Keys developer Boulis

Fourteen years after prominent Florida Keys businessman Gus Boulis died in a hail of bullets, a reputed mobster was convicted of first-degree murder Wednesday in Fort Lauderdale.

Anthony "Big Tony" Moscatiello, 77, was facing his second trial in the gangland-style slaying in Broward County.

Anthony "Little Tony" Ferrari, who handled South Florida matters for Moscatiello, was convicted in 2013 and sentenced to life in prison.

Konstantinos "Gus" Boulis was killed because he was trying to reclaim ownership of the SunCruz Casinos gambling-boat fleet, a business Boulis launched in Key Largo in 1994, prosecutors and witnesses said.

Evidence showed Boulis was killed by mob hit man John "J.J." Gurino. The shooter was shot to death by a Boca Raton restaurant owner in 2003 during an unrelated dispute. Moscatiello was accused of ordering the Boulis slaying. 

"He's the person everybody answers to," Assistant Broward County State Attorney Gregg Rossman said in a closing argument. "It all leads right back to him."

At the time of his death, Boulis owned multiple properties throughout the Keys. He built the Key Largo Bay Marriott Beach Resort, and later acquired the Key Largo Holiday Inn and Ramada Inn. His estate still owns the gulfside property of the former Quay shopping center at 12650 Overseas Highway in Marathon, assessed at $2.2 million.

After selling the Mr. Submarine chain, Boulis moved to Key West, where he opened several restaurants. They included the first Miami Subs store, which would grow into a chain that reaches globally.

Boulis sold his fleet of SunCruz boats for $147.5 million to Adam Kidan and Jack Abramoff in September 2000, after the federal government investigated charges that Boulis improperly owned U.S. commercial vessels while not a citizen.

Boulis was regarded as a sharp businessman with a volatile temper, and he clashed with Kidan over payments he said he was owned.

Moscatiello and Ferrari had a lucrative contract with Kidan to provide services to the SunCruz fleet. They reportedly arranged the killing of Boulis to protect that revenue.

Kidan and Abramoff both did federal prison time after pleading guilty to fraud in the $147.5 million purchase of SunCruz from Boulis.

This story was originally published July 4, 2015 at 9:22 AM with the headline "Jury convicts killer of Keys developer Boulis."