No excuses will be made for illegal conduct except to point out most Gambling Addicts have no previous criminal record.
What responsibility does a slot parlor have to stop making loans to people who are unable to repay their debts?
Included within the Slot Barn legislation passed by Beacon Hill were 2 worrisome provisions --
1. Free Alcohol (close to 24/7/365)
2. The ability of the Slot Barns to provide loans.
Beacon Hill seemed willing to join with others to endorse exploiting every weakness.
LaSaracina charged with fraud, money laundering
By Brian Hallenbeck
Publication: The Day
Hartford - F. Robert LaSaracina, the certified public accountant accused of defrauding a Norwich estate of millions of dollars and inducing clients to invest in murky business deals, appeared Wednesday in U.S. District Court after his arrest on a criminal complaint charging him with mail fraud, wire fraud and money laundering.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Donna Martinez released LaSaracina on a $500,000 bond co-signed by family members and ordered that he avoid any casino and submit to an evaluation to determine whether he has a gambling addiction.
LaSaracina, 59, must surrender his passport by noon Friday, may not leave Connecticut and may not have contact with potential witnesses in the prosecution of the charges against him, which stem from an alleged scheme to defraud investors. He must also refrain from the excessive use of alcohol and drugs and have authorities review any proposed financial transactions of more than $500.
The graying LaSaracina, whom federal agents arrested at his Norwich office, appeared in court in an open-collar dress shirt and said little. Members of his immediate family, including his wife, Cheryl, sat on a bench behind him and his attorney, Benjamin Adams of Santos & Seeley, a Hartford law firm. When a reporter approached outside the courtroom, Adams said the family would have no comment.
Also Wednesday, LaSaracina's Norwich attorney, Mark Block, filed a Superior Court appeal of a state Probate Court finding that LaSaracina "willfully mismanaged" nine Kauppinen family trusts from 1997 to 2009 and owes the trusts more than $4.2 million.
An affidavit filed in support of the federal charges against LaSaracina remained sealed Wednesday. In court, Assistant U.S. Attorney Nora Dannehy, who is prosecuting the case, told the judge that LaSaracina devised and executed a scheme to defraud investors by using investment funds entrusted to him to pay personal and business expenses. It's also alleged that he used funds from more recent investors to make "lulling payments" to earlier victims of his scheme.
Martinez set a probable-cause hearing on the charges for Nov. 10. If a grand jury returns an indictment against LaSaracina before then, there will be no hearing, she said.
Three longtime clients of LaSaracina have brought civil suits against him in New London Superior Court, alleging that he induced them to invest in an "undisclosed individual or business" that he never identified. In a suit filed in December, Steven Grob of Stonington accused LaSaracina of failing to repay Grob's $50,000 investment. The parties have agreed to a repayment schedule.
In a suit filed in August, Lisa Andersen of Canterbury made a similar claim against LaSaracina, alleging he defaulted on the repayment of her $150,000 investment.
Last month, George Kennedy of Jewett City, whom court documents identify as a childhood friend as well as a longstanding client of LaSaracina, sued, alleging LaSaracina had defaulted on $100,000 in investments he had induced Kennedy to make.
LaSaracina has not responded to the Andersen and Kennedy suits, citing his Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination.
He took a similar tack during a hearing last month in the Norwich probate matter. He did the same when he was called to testify in a New London Superior Court case involving Sovereign Bank's ultimately successful claim that Michael Thomas, former chairman of the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Council, had defaulted on a $5.2 million line of credit. LaSaracina testified to handling some of Thomas' finances.
LaSaracina has other legal entanglements.
The Mashantuckets' Foxwoods Resort Casino sued him last month over an outstanding gambling debt. Both his place of business at 209-211 West Town St. and his 6,500-square-foot home on Case Street in Norwich are in foreclosure. The West Town Street property, owned by Cheryl LaSaracina, is scheduled for a foreclosure sale in January, while the parties in the home foreclosure are in mediation, according to court records.
In addition, Linda Kidder, the Waterford attorney appointed conservator of the Kauppinen family trusts, has filed a malpractice suit over LaSaracina's handling of the estate.
In his appeal of the Probate Court ruling, Block, LaSaracina's lawyer, claims the court "abused its discretion" when it denied LaSaracina's request for a continuance due to the federal investigation. Block contends that LaSaracina was unable to defend himself in the probate matter because he had to invoke his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination and because the FBI had seized documents from his office that were "necessary for his defense."
The mail- and wire-fraud charges carry a maximum prison term of 20 years, and the money-laundering charge carries a maximum term of 10 years. The federal investigation, which is ongoing, is being handled by the FBI, the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation and the state Office of the Chief State's Attorney.
Any victims or other individuals with information about the alleged scheme are encouraged to contact the FBI at (203) 777-6311.
Editor's Note: Federal authorities who arrested Norwich accountant F. Robert LaSaracina on a criminal complaint charging him with mail fraud, wire fraud and money laundering did not say the charges were linked to his mishandling of a Norwich estate. An earlier headline on this story was incorrect.
Showing posts with label Norwich CT. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Norwich CT. Show all posts
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Monday, October 11, 2010
Gambling cited in theft from parents
Gambling cited in theft from parents
Police say woman fed casino slots with looted cash
Norwich, Conn. — A 53-year-old Canterbury woman who police said gambled away nearly $250,000 on slot machines at Mohegan Sun is due in court this week to face charges she spent $110,000 of her parents’ money.
Judith A. LePage was charged with first-degree larceny following investigation by Norwich police into money that started disappearing from her parents’ bank accounts in 2006. It was the year LePage’s parents were admitted into a nursing home in Montville and she took control of the finances. Her father died six months after he was admitted to the nursing home.
LePage’s brother, David Tedeschi, told police he starting getting suspicious of his sister when she opened a bank account to deposit $60,000 worth of her parents’ insurance checks. Most of the money was either withdrawn or transferred to LePage’s own account, police records show.
When confronted by her brother about the money, police said LePage was at times apologetic and indignant in recorded phone messages.
“Just give me a break. Pretend I’m a stranger that you’d be nice to and give a break, OK? I shouldn’t have done that and I’m sorry,” according to a police warrant affidavit. “It’s definitely 100 percent my fault and I’m gonna have to go to jail. Just put me in jail.”
Suspicious activity
Investigation into the finances by Norwich Police Detective Mark Lounsbury turned up an array of suspicious bank and credit card transactions and unexplained expenditures.
A check of LePage’s mother’s bank account showed 136 transactions. Most were transfers to LePage’s account and cash withdrawals, according to the arrest warrant affidavit.
Credit card used
Use of her parents’ credit card account jumped dramatically between Jan. 19, 2007, and May 5, 2009. Police said the total amount charged was $27,521, which included cash advances, late payments and finance charges. The amount also included $16,396 from Peapod, an online food purchase and delivery service, with an average monthly bill of $585. The amount did not match what her mother alone could eat, police confirmed.
In total, between money taken from savings and checking accounts, transfers to her own accounts and purchases on a credit card, police estimate she siphoned $111,673 from her parents’ accounts, police said.
In an interview with police, LePage, who records show was an employee with the state Department of Social Services in Norwich, said she had always been there for her parents. She also said her husband committed suicide in 2006 at which time she became sick. She explained that many of the withdrawals did not go to her, but to her mother and others on behalf of her mother. She also said she had $80,000 in credit card bills and an apartment house mortgage to pay.
She admitted that portions of the $500 to $700 monthly grocery bills were for herself and her son. She said she had taken $60,000 in total from her mother’s bank accounts which she intended to return.
$225,000 lost to slots
Mohegan Sun patron records obtained by police showed she lost nearly $225,000 playing slot machines between 2001 and her arrest this year. Those years had included $21,000 in losses in 2003 and 2004, a $27,813 loss in 2005 and a $10,339 loss in 2006.
In 2007, the year after she took control of her parents’ finances, records showed she lost $62,071 at the casino followed by a $49,588 loss in 2008.
LePage is due to appear Thursday in Norwich Superior Court.
Police say woman fed casino slots with looted cash
Norwich, Conn. — A 53-year-old Canterbury woman who police said gambled away nearly $250,000 on slot machines at Mohegan Sun is due in court this week to face charges she spent $110,000 of her parents’ money.
Judith A. LePage was charged with first-degree larceny following investigation by Norwich police into money that started disappearing from her parents’ bank accounts in 2006. It was the year LePage’s parents were admitted into a nursing home in Montville and she took control of the finances. Her father died six months after he was admitted to the nursing home.
LePage’s brother, David Tedeschi, told police he starting getting suspicious of his sister when she opened a bank account to deposit $60,000 worth of her parents’ insurance checks. Most of the money was either withdrawn or transferred to LePage’s own account, police records show.
When confronted by her brother about the money, police said LePage was at times apologetic and indignant in recorded phone messages.
“Just give me a break. Pretend I’m a stranger that you’d be nice to and give a break, OK? I shouldn’t have done that and I’m sorry,” according to a police warrant affidavit. “It’s definitely 100 percent my fault and I’m gonna have to go to jail. Just put me in jail.”
Suspicious activity
Investigation into the finances by Norwich Police Detective Mark Lounsbury turned up an array of suspicious bank and credit card transactions and unexplained expenditures.
A check of LePage’s mother’s bank account showed 136 transactions. Most were transfers to LePage’s account and cash withdrawals, according to the arrest warrant affidavit.
Credit card used
Use of her parents’ credit card account jumped dramatically between Jan. 19, 2007, and May 5, 2009. Police said the total amount charged was $27,521, which included cash advances, late payments and finance charges. The amount also included $16,396 from Peapod, an online food purchase and delivery service, with an average monthly bill of $585. The amount did not match what her mother alone could eat, police confirmed.
In total, between money taken from savings and checking accounts, transfers to her own accounts and purchases on a credit card, police estimate she siphoned $111,673 from her parents’ accounts, police said.
In an interview with police, LePage, who records show was an employee with the state Department of Social Services in Norwich, said she had always been there for her parents. She also said her husband committed suicide in 2006 at which time she became sick. She explained that many of the withdrawals did not go to her, but to her mother and others on behalf of her mother. She also said she had $80,000 in credit card bills and an apartment house mortgage to pay.
She admitted that portions of the $500 to $700 monthly grocery bills were for herself and her son. She said she had taken $60,000 in total from her mother’s bank accounts which she intended to return.
$225,000 lost to slots
Mohegan Sun patron records obtained by police showed she lost nearly $225,000 playing slot machines between 2001 and her arrest this year. Those years had included $21,000 in losses in 2003 and 2004, a $27,813 loss in 2005 and a $10,339 loss in 2006.
In 2007, the year after she took control of her parents’ finances, records showed she lost $62,071 at the casino followed by a $49,588 loss in 2008.
LePage is due to appear Thursday in Norwich Superior Court.
Monday, August 16, 2010
CT: Spectrum Gaming Report #1
Norwich, the largest municipality in the region, is coping with a number of
problems. It is located within eight miles of both casinos. DUI arrests have
more than doubled since 1992. Montville and Ledyard have also experienced
significant increases. Roughly 20 percent of the motorists in Montville, Ledyard
and North Stonington arrested for DUI acknowledged to police that their last
drink was at a casino. One such motorist was charged with manslaughter in March
2009 for allegedly causing a fatal accident by driving the wrong way on I-395.
Norwich Public School administrators identified on a yearly basis nearly
$2 million in casino-related costs. In order to handle the influx of immigrant
workers attracted to casino jobs, the district had to create English for
Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) program because students speak nearly 30
different languages. They come from Haiti, Peru, the Dominican Republic and
Eastern Europe. In addition, thousands of Chinese-speaking workers were
recruited from New York City in late 2001 to work at the casinos.
– page 13
Spectrum Gaming Group (SGG) “Gambling in Connecticut” 2009
The Spectrum Gaming Report prepared for the CT DOSR is availble on the United to Stop Slots in Massachusetts web site. It's worth reading.
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