Former suburban cannabis executive, 3 golf pals charged with insider trading

A former cannabis enterprise executive and three golfing buddies from the suburbs are facing federal insider trading charges.

According to court records, Anthony Marisco, 39, of Bartlett, used his position as an executive at a cannabis operation to buy and sell shares of a rival cannabis company that was targeted for acquisition.

Federal prosecutors said Marisco shared the information about the proposed purchase with a fellow member of a private country club, who in turn shared the information about the potential sale with two others.

According to the indictment, Marisco told Arthur Pizzello, 61, of Wayne, about the pending sale. Pizzello, in turn, told Robert Quattrocchi, 63, of Schaumburg, and Timothy Carey, 57, of Hanover Park.

All four men purchased shares of the company being targeted for sale, court records show. All four men are charged with conspiracy to commit securities fraud.

Marisco is also charged with securities fraud. Prosecutors said he bought 900,000 shares at a deflated rate resulting in a $607,338 profit. He then sold all the stock before it was publicly reported the sale didn’t go through.