Basso was arrested in January 1988 after being suspected of being an overseer of the Chicago Outfit's betting operations in DuPage County, Illinois and Chicago's northwest suburbs. In December 1988, Basso was convicted in Chicago of syndicate gambling and conspiracy to commit gambling and later was sentenced to 20 months of probation and 70 days of work release. At the time of Basso's arrest, betting slips showed that his clients often wagered large sums on baseball, football, basketball, and horse racing events. Authorities had seized $225,000 in betting slips, Basso's 1988 Lincoln Town Car, his cell telephone and $8,700 in cash, according to a news account.
