Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley files civil suit to shut down Internet cafe in Chicopee

Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley files civil suit to shut down Internet cafe in Chicopee
Published: Friday, May 04, 2012
By Dan Ring, The Republican

BOSTON -- Attorney General Martha M. Coakley has filed a civil suit against an Internet slots cafe in Chicopee operated by a former mayoral chief of staff in Springfield who was previously convicted of federal tax fraud, alleging the cafe is an illegal gambling operation in violation of state consumer protection laws.

The civil lawsuit was filed in Boston against Express Internet Center at 205 Exchange St. in Chicopee, which offers casino-style computer games such as "Wheel Deal," "Snake Eyes," and "Lucky Loot," the suit said. Also named in the suit is the business's operator and corporate member, Anthony M. Ardolino, 42, of 128 Dayton St. in Springfield, who was chief of staff for former Mayor Michael J. Albano from 1996 to 2001.

According to the civil suit, Express Internet and Ardolino promoted illegal gambling through electronic slot machine games in direct violation of the state’s Consumer Protection Act and related regulations by the attorney general that were approved in June of last year.

APMartha Coakley

In 2007, Ardolino was sentenced in U.S. District Court in Springfield to a year in a minimum-security federal prison in a criminal fraud case involving his part ownerships in a couple of downtown Springfield bars.

Ardolino had pleaded guilty in federal court to one count of conspiracy to defraud the federal government and four counts of filing false personal income tax returns.

Anthony Ardolino's lawyer, Benjamin M. Coyle of Bacon Wilson, P.C. in Springfield, said the Express Internet Center opened in October of 2010, after it was fully licensed and aired at public hearings by authorities in the city of Chicopee including the License Commission. Coyle said the company's position is that it is a validly-licensed business operating in the state.

"Mr. Ardolino always considers himself to be an upstanding business owner," Coyle said. "From the time he started the business, he did everything in accord with the rules and regulations established at the time the business started."

File photo | The Republican
07.17.2007 | SPRINGFIELD — Anthony M. Ardolino enters the federal courthouse.

Ardolino declined comment.

The Express center, located in a strip mall with a Family Dollar store and other businesses, was closed voluntarily on Thursday, according to Coyle.

The center, which offers free food and drinks and 48 partitioned computers, used to operate from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. seven days a week, according to the civil suit.

Ardolino wants to comply with all rules and regulations, Coyle said. The business will work with the attorney general to determine the impetus behind the regulations and later determine whether or not the business will continue at that location, Coyle said.

A separate lawyer at Bacon Wilson is representing different businesses in a pending lawsuit in Hampden Superior Court that challenges the validity of the attorney general's regulations, Coyle said.

After the suit was filed on Tuesday in Suffolk Superior Court, the defendants, including the owner and parent corporation, called 170 Elm St. LLC, agreed on Thursday to a temporary court order requiring them to preserve certain documents and freezing their assets, except if the assets are used in the ordinary course of business, Coakley's office said on Friday. A hearing in Suffolk Superior is set for May 15.

“We allege that this café is an unlawful establishment, profiting from unregulated and illegal gambling games with no posted odds, minimum odds, or guarantee of pay outs for patrons. Today’s action is just the latest step toward holding accountable businesses that mislead customers and operate in violation of the law," Coakley said.

The lawsuit seeks to shut down the café and to recover penalties, fees, and unlawful profits from the defendants, the attorney general said.

A bill to ban Internet cafes is pending on Beacon Hill.

The attorney general is using a combination of civil and criminal enforcement tools to investigate allegedly illegal Internet cafes. A special statewide grand jury issued criminal indictments last year against the closed Cafeno's Internet Cafe in Chicopee and "Leo's Place" in Fall River and Fairhaven. The businesses and their owners currently are fighting charges of organizing or promoting gambling services and operating an illegal lottery.

Coakley's crackdown on the cafes comes as a state agency is moving to license casino resorts and a slot facility that were legalized under the state's expanded gambling law in November.

Coakley's lawsuit contains an affidavit from a civil investigator for her office who went undercover and visited the Express Internet Center last month to use the computer slots.

At the center, people are issued a plastic card and can use it to buy time on the Internet and also get points for the games. People can click on an icon for the games and wager points on any one of about 25 different casino-style slot machines that appear on the screen, the affidavit said.

If players won, they could redeem points for cash, the affidavit said.

After the investigator spent $60 and accumulated $7 of win points, a cashier told her "Better luck next time."