BROWARD COUNTY, Fla. -- One of the three men accused of murdering Sun Cruz mogul Gus Boulis had his first appearance in a South Florida courtroom Thursday.

Tony Moscatiello was extradited from New York to Fort Lauderdale. He is being held without bond at the Broward County Jail.

Detectives say Moscatiello worked with two other men to murder Boulis in a mob-style hit. The other suspects are James Fiorella who lived in Palm Coast, and Anthony Ferrari who lived in Miami Beach.

Moscatiello received thousands of dollars in Sun Cruz checks, money that investigators said they believe was the payoff for the murder of Boulis.

Moscatiello, Ferrari and Fiorillo, is charged with gunning down Boulis back in 2001.

Moscatiello and Ferrari are charged with first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit murder and solicitation to commit murder. Fiorillo is charged with first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder.

Miami Subs-Sun Cruz Mogul Dies In Mob-style Hit

Gus Boulis, 51, was gunned down in the streets of Fort Lauderdale on Feb. 6, 2001.

Boulis was the founder of Miami Subs and the controversial SunCruz line of casino boats. Boulis was driving his BMW near the 2000 block of Miami Road when a vehicle cut him off. Seconds later a Ford Mustang pulled up next to Boulis’ car, and one of two men inside fired several shots into Boulis’ car before both cars sped away.

Boulis emigrated from Greece and built an empire of gambling boats, hotels, and restaurants, including the national chain of Miami Subs. SunCruz, which was founded in 1994 with just one ship, grew to become the largest operator of casino gaming ships in Florida.

In 1998, the cruise-to-nowhere line was investigated by the state under suspicion of allowing gambling within the three-mile no-gambling zone off the coast. State agents seized slot machines and approximately $1 million in cash from three SunCruz ships. A judge ruled there was not enough evidence to support the state’s case, and the machines and money were returned to Boulis.

The Investigation

Investigators said trouble for Boulis began with the sale and purchase of Sun Cruz Casinos.

Boulis sold Sun Cruz to Adam Kidan, but it was a contentious sale that left the two men at odds with each other.

Investigators zeroed in on a mysterious series of checks totaling $105,000 from Kidan payable to a Miami Beach company called "Moon Over Miami."

The man behind Moon Over Miami is Anthony Ferrari.

The sale of Sun Cruz led to charges in August against prominent Washington lobbyist Jack Abramoff. He is a key figure in investigations involving House Majority Leader Tom DeLay.

The indictment was returned Aug. 11 by a grand jury in Fort Lauderdale. It charges that Abramoff and New York businessman Adam Kidan used a fake wire transfer to defraud two lenders out of some $60 million to finance the deal to buy Sun-Cruz from Boulis.

Both have pleaded not guilty in the fraud case.