Macau to study ways to combat multiplier: govt

Macau to study ways to combat multiplier: govt

 May 30, 2016

Macau’s Secretary for Security, Wong Sio Chak, said on Monday that his departments would continue to communicate with the city’s casino regulator, the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau (DICJ), to study ways to combat what he referred to as “side betting”.

The secretary made the comment at a Monday press briefing discussing the city’s crime statistics for the first quarter this year. Mr Wong stated that his office currently does not have any official statistics regarding the crime of “side betting” because of its “hidden nature” and the difficulty of obtaining usable evidence concerning the activity.

The Macau government’s “mid-term” review report of the local casino industry published at the start of May, mentioned the likelihood of tighter regulation of VIP gaming promoters at the city’s casinos, including potentially the use of undercover investigators to combat what the report referred to as “side betting”. In the Macau context, this usually means “the multiplier”.

The multiplier is an illegal practice defined in the Macau government’s industry review report as “the VIP room operator’s secret arrangement with the client that both parties will agree to magnify by a few times – for instance ten times – the bet on the table”. The review described the multiplier as “greatly restricting government taxation and seriously disruptive to social order”.

Speaking to reporters on Monday, Mr Wong said his office remains “open” on whether to adopt the use of undercover investigators to combat the multiplier. That possibility was mentioned in the “mid-term” review report.

The secretary also noted that what the government refers to as “the adjustment” in Macau’s gaming industry – usually taken by outsiders as a reference to the two-year downward trend in casino gross gaming revenue – had so far not had any negative impact on the city’s security, nor had it created what Mr Wong referred to as “irregularities” in triad activities.

Rise in crimes

But according to official data released by Mr Wong’s office, there was a rise in the number of gambling-related crimes in the first three months of this year.

In the January to March period, the number of cases of gambling-related crimes reported to, and investigated by, the police totalled 368 cases, representing an increase of 11.2 percent year-on-year, the official data indicated.

In the quarter, a total of 89 cases of unlawful detention – i.e., where a person is held against his or her will by someone not legally authorised to do so – were recorded, reflecting an increase of 32.8 percent year-on-year. Such cases are typically associated in Macau with loan sharking connected to gambling, the city’s authorities have said.

Usury cases – unlawful lending of money – in the period, increased by 55.9 percent year-on-year to 106 cases, according to official data released on Monday.

While cases of unlawful detention and of usury had fallen when judged quarter-on-quarter, the fact that both categories of offence had risen year-on-year was a ground for the security forces not to be complacent, the secretary’s office concluded. The office also noted on Monday that it would launch more efficiently targeted crime prevention measures to combat illegal detention and usury.

Most of the victims and suspects involved in the illegal detention and usury cases were not Macau residents, the secretary’s office said in its report, which was read out at the media briefing.

Explaining the year-on-year rise seen in gambling-related crimes, Mr Wong stated it was partly due to “better enforcement of the law”. Most of the cases took place inside casinos, and the police saw so signs that such criminal activity was spreading beyond the walls of the casinos.

His office noted that in the first quarter, gaming-related cases involving a total of 424 suspects had been sent to the Public Prosecutions Office, up by 17.5 percent year-on-year.

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http://www.ggrasia.com/macau-to-study-ways-to-combat-multiplier-govt/

No verdict in Bonanno mob trial; deliberations resume Monday

Anthony Santoro (aka Skinny) is one of many Bonanno associates rounded up in Manhattan Criminal Court July 9 2013. (Joe Marino/New York Daily News) (Joe Marino)

By Mira Wassef | mwassef@siadvance.com 
Email the author | Follow on Twitter 
on May 05, 2016 

MANHATTAN, N.Y.-- After six days of deliberations, the jury in the Bonanno mob trial did not reach a verdict Thursday in state Supreme Court in Manhattan.

The deliberations will resume Monday.

Anthony (Skinny) Santoro, 52, of Great Kills, and his alleged Bonanno co-defendants -- Vito Badamo, 53, Nicholas Santora, 73, and Ernest Aiello, 36 -- are accused of enterprise corruption, including loansharking, gambling and drug dealing, after authorities reportedly busted the family's nine-man crew in July 2013.

On Thursday, the panel asked to hear a series of calls regarding a bettor who owed money from betting on allaction247.com, the gambling site Santoro allegedly ran.

In one of the calls, Santoro says, "I'm gonna split his f------ head open with a hatchet, to be honest with you."

"Biz, I'll put two holes in his f------ forehead, I'll double tap his forehead right now. I will go right now put two holes in his head. He'll be one dead young punk. I'll leave him in the street right now. I'll shoot him right now, right this minute. I'll take a shower and shave, just to go shoot him."

They jurors also asked for clarification regarding the difference between direct evidence and circumstantial evidence.

The panel asked the judge Wednesday for advice about resolving its disagreements so it can avoid a hung jury.

The skinny on 'Skinny' -- Man at center of mob trial

Anthony (Skinny) Santoro, the alleged Staten Island Bonanno mobster, has been portrayed with these conflicting -- yet fascinating -- personalities.

On Tuesday, the jurors requested to see all the photos from the trial, the vouchers from all the executed search warrants, and asked to hear calls involving Badamo, Santoro and Nicholas Bernhard, one of the other five co-defendants who pleaded guilty.

The panel also heard a car-bug call between Badamo and alleged Bonanno boss Santora. They also wanted to see the phone books and vouchers from Santora's home search.

The jurors had deliberated for two days before a week-long break and returned on Monday. On Monday, the panel asked to see evidence pertaining to  allaction247.com. They also asked to see the vouchers pertaining to the search warrant executed at Santoro's Tanglewood Drive residence in Great Kills.

During their brief discussions two weeks ago, they had questions about venue and the loansharking charge.

The panel was charged with the different elements constituting enterprise corruption, grand larceny in the second-degree and first-degree criminal usury.

The state claims Santora, who is allegedly nicknamed "Captain Crunch," is the crime family's ringleader. The prosecution says he was in charge of an Internet gambling site, sold prescription drugs, such as Cialis and Viagra, on the black market, and the other three defendants were his underlings.

http://www.silive.com/news/index.ssf/2016/05/jury_2.html

BONANNO MOB TRIAL

• No verdict in Bonanno mob trial; deliberations resume Monday
• Jury in Bonanno mob trial asks for advice to avoid hung jury
• Still no verdict in Bonanno mob trial; deliberations resume Wednesday
• Jury does not reach verdict in Bonanno mob trial
• The skinny on 'Skinny' -- A look at man at center of the Bonanno mob trial

Pennsylvania State Rep. Marc J. Gergely makes first court appearance, released on recognizance

State Representative From Allegheny County Charged In Connection With Illegal Gambling Ring

Published 03/01 2016

HARRISBURG-(WBRE/WYOU)- Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane announced today that the filing of criminal charges against Marc J. Gergely a state representative from Allegheny County accused of using his position as an elected official to assist the illegal gambling enterprise of a longtime friend.

The charges filed against Gergely, 46, followed a joint investigation conducted by the Office of Attorney General and the Pennsylvania State Police.

The charges were brought forth by a statewide investigating grand jury. The grand jury viewed testimony and evidence that Gergely allegedly agreed to help in the illegal gambling enterprise headed by Ronald "Porky" Melocchi, a man Gergely allegedly knew for more than 20 years.

"This is an unfortunate case in which the players traded political capital and favors to advance their own agendas and illicit business," Attorney General Kane said. "The evidence clearly shows that Mr. Melocchi relied heavily on his relationships — including with Mr. Gergely — to conduct his illegal business."

Melocchi and 15 other individuals were criminally charged in September 2013 by the Attorney General's office. Those charges came from the installation and maintenance of illegal video gambling devices in bars, restaurants and other businesses in the McKeesport area. Law enforcement officials seized more than 330 video gambling machines while the investigation was going on. Illegal lotteries and sports betting also were part of the evidence that investigators uncovered.

A court-approved wiretap was part of the Melocchi investigation and confirmed he used a phone to run and promote his illegal business interests. The wiretap also intercepted phone calls that show Gergely allegedly assisted Melocchi's attempts to place illegal gambling machines in McKeesport-area businesses.

Melocchi came to refer to Gergely as part of his "Super PAC," and used his connection to Gergely in efforts to convince business owners to place illegal gambling devices within their establishments, a grand jury presentment alleges.

The grand jury also viewed evidence concerning a letter that law enforcement investigators drafted in an undercover capacity and delivered to Gergely's state office. The letter described a woman whose husband has a gambling addiction. The husband allegedly spent the couple's money on gambling machines that were part of Melocchi's illegal enterprise, the letter drafted by investigators claimed, according to the grand jury.

A phone call was intercepted and then later played for the grand jury showed Gergely tipped off Melocchi about the letter, the grand jury presentment states. Gergely allegedly failed to turn over the letter to the authorities.    

Further evidence was brought to the grand jury alleged Gergely collected a campaign contribution from Melocchi and and later wrote a check to a colleague’s political campaign during a chain of events that resulted in a relative of Melocchi working for the McKeesport Area School District.

Gergely, 1943 Dearborn Drive, White Oak, Allegheny County, represents the 35th legislative district, which includes McKeesport and various other municipalities in Allegheny County. He is charged with two counts of corrupt organizations and one count each of dealing in the proceeds of illegal activity, criminal attempt/gambling devices, criminal conspiracy and violation of state election code prohibiting cash or anonymous contributions.

Gergely is expected to appear tomorrow for his preliminary arraignment.

Attorney General Kane stressed this is an ongoing investigation and additional charges are expected. She thanked the Pennsylvania State Police for its diligent work on the investigation.

http://www.pahomepage.com/news/state-representative-from-allegheny-county-charged-in-connection-with-illegal-gambling-ring

Gergely makes first court appearance, released on recognizance

March 2, 2016 8:46 PM

By Andrew Goldstein / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

State Rep. Marc J. Gergely, accused of wielding his political influence to support an illegal video gambling operation in McKeesport, was arraigned on criminal charges Wednesday and is due back in court for a preliminary hearing at the end of the month.

The 46-year-old Democrat from White Oak pulled up to District Judge Tom Swan’s offices in West Deer about 9:20 a.m. in his state-issued black Jeep Commander and ignored reporters as he walked inside. His attorney, Charles J. Porter Jr., also declined comment.

Following a grand jury investigation, the state Attorney General’s office has charged Mr. Gergely with six crimes, including three felony counts of corrupt organizations and dealing in the proceeds of illegal activity, and three misdemeanor counts involving conspiracy, gambling and an election law violation.

Mr. Gergely remained standing and kept his hands in his pockets for much of his brief arraignment before District Judge Swan and was released on his own recognizance pending a preliminary hearing March 30. That hearing also will take place before the district judge. The lawmaker and his lawyer again made no comment as they left.

The charges were the result of a joint investigation conducted by the state attorney general’s office and the Pennsylvania State Police.

The affidavit supporting the charges states that Mr. Gergely used his political influence to help Ronald “Porky” Melocchi, a friend of the legislator’s father, get video poker machines into various bars and other establishments.

“This is an instance where the allegations show what I would consider the insidious nature of organized crime,” Mark Serge, senior deputy attorney general, said outside the district judge’s office after the hearing. “You have relationships and money that tends to infiltrate the political system, and individuals get caught up in that. And I think these allegations and the charges show that.”

Melocchi pleaded guilty last year to a felony charge of corrupt organizations and misdemeanor counts of gambling devices and engaging in pool selling/bookmaking and was sentenced to a decade of probation.

No one besides Mr. Gergely has been charged as a result of the most recent grand jury probe, but the investigation continues.

“This is an ongoing criminal investigation,” Mr. Serge said. “We do anticipate more charges in this matter.”

Mr. Serge said additional charges, if any are filed, would involve people other than Mr. Gergely and be related to the Melocchi video gambling operation.

On Tuesday, Mr. Gergely resigned his position as ranking Democrat on the House Labor and Industry Committee.

Government watchdogs Tuesday called on Mr. Gergely to step down and suspend his campaign for re-election.

http://www.post-gazette.com/news/politics-local/2016/03/02/Rep-Gergely-turns-himself-in-on-corruption-charges-white-oak-pittsburgh-porky-melocchi-gambling/stories/201603020159

Match-fixing in tennis: Australian Open players implicated in report of suspected widespread corruption

Match-fixing in tennis: Australian Open players implicated in report of suspected widespread corruption

THE head of tennis’ anti-corruption watchdog has refused to rule out the possibility as many as eight allegedly crooked players are contesting the Australian Open.

Nigel Willerton, head of the Tennis Integrity Unit, was asked to confirm or deny that “there are players on the tour and maybe in this tournament that are being monitored by your unit for possible match fixing offences.”

Willerton replied: “It would be inappropriate for me to make comment as to whether any players are under investigation at the present time.”

Three of the most senior officials in international tennis — the ATP Tour’s Chris Kermode and Mark Young and Willert — were forced to address claims of entrenched corruption in the sport.

According to a joint report by the BBC and Buzzfeed News, eight players repeatedly flagged to the TIU over suspicions of match-fixing are in Melbourne for the Australian Open.

Pointing to 18 successful prosecutions of players who have engaged in illegal practices such as match fixing, Kermode admitted he was frustrated by reports authorities had not done enough to stamp out corruption.

“The Tennis Integrity Unit and the tennis authorities absolutely reject any suggestion that evidence of match fixing has been suppressed for any reason or isn’t being thoroughly investigated,” he said.

“Let me just say that all of us here in tennis are absolutely committed to stamp out any form of corrupt conduct in our sport.

“There is a zero-tolerance policy on this. We are not complacent. We are very vigilant on this. We are not complacent.

“Whilst we are aware that all sport — all sport, not just tennis — is at potential risk of corruption, that is why, in 2008 the Tennis Integrity Unit was set up to actually tackle this issue head on.

“We are constantly vigilant and not complacent.

“In its investigations, the Tennis Integrity Unit has to find evidence as opposed to information, suspicion, or hearsay.

“This is the key here, that it requires evidence.”

The opening day of the year’s first grand slam has been overshadowed by revelations that 16 top-50 players over the last decade have been reported to the TIU, set up to police the sport and claiming a zero-tolerance policy towards betting related corruption, over suspicions they had thrown matches.

Repeated alerts were sent to the TIU in relation to a number of players, some of whom BBC reports are winners of grand slam titles, but all continued to play and were not disciplined.

In a radio program aired overnight, the BBC said it had “seen confidential documents which reveal how some (players) were linked to gambling syndicates in Russia and Italy which won hundreds of thousands of pounds betting on matches they played in.

Fans arrived at Melbourne Park unaware of the dramatic revelations.Source: News Corp Australia

“A number of those who have been repeatedly flagged on fixing lists passed to the game’s Tennis Integrity Unit have continued to attract highly suspicious gambling activity.”

Buzzfeed said that players were targeted in hotel rooms at major tournaments and offered $50,000 or more per fix by corrupt gamblers.

But tennis authorities said that there is no complacency when it comes to fighting corruption.

“I can assure you that tennis is not treating this lightly,” ATP chief Chris Kermode told Buzzfeed.

“The idea that tennis is not acting appropriately is ludicrous.”

One of the sport’s most ­infamous gambling controversies involved leading Russian player Nikolay Davydenko.

The former world No. 3 was cleared in 2008 of any wrongdoing after the year-long probe into suspicious betting patterns on a match he lost to a lowly-ranked opponent in ­Poland.

The ATP, the governing body of men’s tennis, said it found “no evidence” of wrongdoing by Davydenko, who was beaten by Argentinian Martin Vassallo Arguello in Sopot.

Betting on the match, which ended when Davydenko retir­ed with a foot injury, were so extreme that online bookmakers voided all wagers.

The match attracted more than 10 times the usual amount for a match of that level, with most on Arguello after he had lost the first set.

Players and coaches are ­forbidden from gambling on tennis.

Tomic shocked by backlash

1:25

It was in the wake of that investigation that the ITU was established.

A fresh anti-corruption code was implemented in 2009 but, after taking legal advice, the game’s authorities were told previous corruption offences couldn’t be pursued and “as a result no new investigations into any of the players who were mentioned in the 2008 report were opened”, a TIU spokesman said.

The BBC and Buzzfeed were given access to the evidence by whistleblowers who have asked to remain anonymous.

“There was a core of about 10 players that we believed were the most common perpetrators that were at the root of the problem,” Mark Phillips, who was one of the betting investigators in the 2007 inquiry, told the BBC.

“The evidence was really strong, there appeared to be a really good chance to nip it in the bud and get a strong deterrent out there to root out the main bad apples.”

The reports also claim that the European Sports Security Association, which monitors betting for bookmakers, flagged up more than 50 suspicious matches to the TIU last year.

Willerton said while it welcomed the support of the betting industry “it is not the role of betting companies to make judgments about corrupt activity”.

“All credible information received by the TIU is analysed, assessed, and investigated by highly experienced former law-enforcement investigators.”

The BBC and Buzzfeed News did not name the players they claimed were the subject of the investigations.

VIDEO ON LINK: 

http://www.foxsports.com.au/tennis/matchfixing-in-tennis-australian-open-players-implicated-in-report-of-suspected-widespread-corruption/news-story/34694d2b33687d1b71e728c43829ffd3

Unsealing A Legacy Of Corruption At The Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office

Unsealing A Legacy Of Corruption 
At The Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office

By Paul Nichols
Wednesday, Dec 23, 2015 

On Monday, Eric Kleiner, attorney for the Estate of Frank P. Lagano filed a motion in Superior Court to unseal evidence in the Bergen County gambling investigation ‘Operation Jersey Boyz’. Lagano ‘s Estate submits that law enforcement has used its secret-keeping privilege to “conceal legally damaging facts”.

The motion seeks to unseal the impounded records, wiretaps, and evidence emanating from the ‘Jersey Boyz’ investigation, which, to date, have never been released to the alleged criminal defendants or to the public.

“Years have passed since Operation Jersey Boyz came to an inauspicious end. Ex parte hearings and closed-door proceedings resulted in suppressed evidence, secret judicial opinions, and sealed records. This motion to unseal is about the control of state-held information, and the ever-changing tension between two conflicting values: secrecy and openness”, wrote Kleiner.

The 2004 crackdown on illegal gambling at Caffe Roma in East Rutherford netted more than $1 million in cash and arrests of dozens of alleged mobsters, but not a single person was charged or has served jail time. At the center of the case was alleged Lucchese crime family associate, Frank Lagano. Lagano was later gunned down outside his East Brunswick diner in 2007.

In 2012, Lagano’s family filed a wrongful death suit against the Bergen County Prosecutor's Office claiming that their lead detective outed him as a confidential informant, leading to his murder.

In a civil suit pending in federal court, Lagano’s estate alleges that Michael Mordaga, former Chief of Detectives for the Bergen County Prosecutor's Office, the "BCPO", had both a personal and a business relationship with Frank Lagano. When Mordaga and Lagano had a falling out, Mordaga and the BCPO allegedly conspired to arrest Lagano on false charges, then disclosed Lagano's status as a confidential informant to members of organized crime, ultimately resulting in Lagano's murder.

In October 2014, a Federal Appeals Court vacated an earlier order that dismissed the civil suit saying the BCPO and Mordaga could not be sued because the BCPO was an arm of the State of New Jersey, and that Mordaga, as BCPO Chief of Detectives, was a state official.

In overturning that dismissal the appellate court found that “In this case, the amended complaint is replete with allegations that Mordaga and others within the BCPO were not performing the classic functions of law enforcement or criminal investigators. -- These allegations support a reasonable inference that neither Mordaga nor the BCPO acted within their classic investigatory and prosecutorial functions with respect to the state-created danger claim”.

Among claims by Lagano’s estate is that $79.900.00 seized from Lagano’s bank safe deposit box, and $54,528.00 seized from his residence was misdirected by the BCPO. Deposit slips show $79,900 and $54,528 transferred into a "CASH FOR PAYROLL" account maintained by the BCPO at Bergen Commercial Bank-not the legally required seized asset trust account held at Mariner's Bank. According to the brief, an additional $130,000 in cash seized from Lagano has never been accounted for.

In October, Prosecutor John Molinelli announced that he was being replaced by Governor Chris Christie. When asked about his decision to replace Molinelli, Christie responded saying, “the fact is that it’s time for a change in Bergen County. It’s long overdue.” “When that change is officially made, I’ll give you all the reasons why,” the Governor added.

“Unsealing is necessary to examine the alleged nexus between Michael Mordaga, the Bergen County Prosecutor's Office, the Bergen County Democratic Party, and Frank Lagano's untimely death,” Kleiner wrote in the brief.

Allegations against John Molinelli made headlines during the recent corruption trial of former Bergen County Democrat boss Joseph Ferriero. Before becoming County Prosecutor, Molinelli served as Treasurer, and then legal counsel, to the Bergen County Democratic Organization under Ferriero.

Questions were raised about Molinelli’s involvement in the criminal case of Dr. Gangaram Ragi, a Teaneck dermatologist who paid $500,000 to Ferriero after a dozen women came forward with accusations they were sexually abused by the doctor during examinations.

With Molinelli’s approval, Ragi received an unprecedented second entry into Pre Trial Intervention (PTI), a program that allowed him to avoid prosecution and may have helped him keep his medical license.

“The officials who investigated Frank Lagano are connected to extortion, patronage, fraud, trading in influence, and other criminal acts. They have not only abused power for profit; they have trod upon the independence of our judiciary and exploited the public trust. Indeed, United States Attorneys have openly accused the Bergen County Prosecutor of playing an active role in a criminal racketeering enterprise,” Kleiner wrote in the brief.

In October, the Bergen Dispatch obtained and published three letters written by Bergen County Freeholder Chairwoman Joan Voss addressed to the New Jersey Attorney General, Governor Chris Christie and Bergen County Assignment Judge Bonnie Mizdol.

Those letters read:

It has been brought to the attention of the Bergen County Board of Chosen Freeholders at a recent Public Meeting that claims have been made against the Office of the Bergen County Prosecutor. It is our understanding that, as the appointing/overseeing authority, your office is the more appropriate avenue for these complaints. We will enclose a transcript of the public comment portion of that meeting as soon as it is available.

The letters were prompted by a group of citizens led by community activist and Molinelli critic, BiIl Brennan, attorney Eric Kleiner and Carlstadt Mayor William Roseman who spoke out at the September 30th public meeting of the Freeholder Board. 

Kleiner called upon the freeholder board to invoke their power under NJSA 52:17B-106 to request that the NJ Attorney General supersede the county prosecutor and remove Molinelli from office.

“This motion details over 10 years of unjust, oppressive, and illegal practices occurring under the direction of Prosecutor John Molinelli and his cohorts. The submission reveals public corruption of epic proportions at the BCPO; corruption that has occurred with the full knowledge or tacit approval of Governor Christie, the Office of the Attorney General, and the US Attorney’s Office. Apparently, the corruption occurring at the BCPO is so lengthy, dramatic, and far-reaching that various state and federal agencies responsible for investigating and prosecuting these matters would rather sweep them under the rug by merely dismissing Molinelli from office than address the BCPO's unlawful conduct directly,” Kleiner said in a statement.

“For these reasons, the Estate's interest in discovering the true circumstances surrounding the murder of Frank Lagano is matched only by the public interest in exposing-and eliminating- the scourge of public corruption. In furtherance of judicial integrity, fundamental fairness, and public safety, the time has come to unearth the truth,” Kleiner surmised.

“In addition to the public corruption outlined in this motion, Molinelli declared war on innocent police officers for personal and political gain and all were acquitted. The saddest and most heinous part of Molinelli’s actions was that he knew these men were all innocent but he criminally prosecuted them anyway. Thank God for the jury system; which is our last line of defense in what has become one of the saddest chapters in law enforcement in US history. This includes P.O. Castronova [a 911 responder and hero] who was acquitted twice, Captain Garcia and Sergeant Aletta from the Hackensack Police Department and Officer Jeff Roberts and his codefendant from the Bergen County Police,” Kleiner told the Bergen Dispatch in a telephone interview.

http://bergendispatch.com/articles/37698913/Unsealing-A-Legacy-Of-Corruption-At-The-Bergen-County-Prosecutor-s-Office.aspx

South Carolina: Amodio to plead guilty; feds indicate investigation targets gambling, extortion

Amodio to plead guilty; feds indicate investigation targets gambling, extortion

By TIM FLACH and JOHN MONK

 

 

February 12, 2015

 

 

 

 

Former South Congaree Police Chief Jason Amodio, right, at his bond hearing in July 2014. He is accused of accepting bribes from former Lexington Town Councilman Danny Frazier, seated, in exchange for returning seized gaming machines to Frazier. THE STATE — FILE PHOTOGRAPH

Read more here: http://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/2015/02/12/4784662_anti-corruption-probe-targets.html?rh=1#storylink=cpy

COLUMBIA SC — A corruption investigation is focusing on illegal gambling as well as extortion and fraud among law enforcement and political officials in the Midlands, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office.

 The revelation came in a proposed plea agreement with former South Congaree Police Chief Jason Amodio that was filed by prosecutors in federal court this week.

It’s the first indication of the scope of the joint federal-state probe that produced charges so far against three Lexington County officials – including former sheriff James Metts – as well as a restauranteur and a former Richland County deputy turned online gaming businessman.

The agreement gave no further information about the investigation.

Amodio is willing to plead guilty to two charges, the agreement says:

• Making a false statement to a federal grand jury in 2012 in connection with money received from an unidentified person that he called a loan to buy a truck. The panel was looking into bribes and kickbacks at that time, the agreement said.

• Misconduct in office, a state violation related to accepting payments for illegal gaming machines seized while he was police chief.

Federal and state prosecutors are recommending four years probation, saying Amodio provided “substantial” assistance in the investigation and still does so.

Probation on both charges would be served concurrently, with Amodio under confinement at his home for eight months. That is in lieu of up to five years in prison on the federal charge and up to 10 years on the state charge.

The deal must be accepted by a federal judge. No hearing on it is set.

Amodio must continue to answer investigators’ questions and provide material about “unlawful activities” as well as pass lie detector tests under the deal.

Failure to to that would void the agreement, subjecting him to new charges and imprisonment.
While the agreement doesn’t name who gave money to Amodio, former Lexington Town Councilman Danny Frazier is accused by a State Grand Jury of making such payments.

The plea agreement is dated June 18 but only made public Tuesday. It was reached the day after Amodio, Metts, Frazier and restaurant owner Greg Leon were indicted.

Metts awaits sentencing after pleading guilty Dec. 30 to a federal charge stemming from interference with the handling of two illegal immigrants at the county jail he formerly oversaw.

Amodio was police chief in the town of 2,300 residents near Columbia Metropolitan Airport for 11 years.

He quit the post in May 2013, citing unspecified personal and family reasons.

His resignation followed a raid on Town Hall by FBI and SLED agents in which unspecified items were seized.
 Amodio was a West Columbia police officer before going to South Congaree as second-in-command of its police in 2011, becoming chief 15 months later.

Read more here: http://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/2015/02/12/4784662_anti-corruption-probe-targets.html?rh=1#storylink=cpy

http://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/2015/02/12/4784662_anti-corruption-probe-targets.html?rh=1

 

Read more here: http://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/2015/02/12/4784662_anti-corruption-probe-targets.html?rh=1#storylink=cpy

Corrupt Jacksonville police union president pleads guilty in corruption case

Corrupt Jacksonville police union president pleads guilty in corruption case

Jacksonville police union president was a close ally of State Attorney Angela Corey

By staff |

January 17, 2015

Read more articles in In-Justice System

 

Jacksonville, FL – Despite pleading guilty to several charges in a federal racketeering investigation, Nelson Cuba, the former president of the Jacksonville Fraternal Order of Police (FOP), will spend no time behind bars. On Jan. 6, Cuba pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor and two third-degree felonies for his role in an illegal $300 million gambling operation. Circuit Judge Kenneth Lester sentenced Cuba to one year of house arrest and a mere four years of probation, in addition to imposing several fines.

Cuba was one of 57 public officials, business owners and attorneys arrested in March 2013 for operating an illegal network of store front casinos and ‘internet cafes’ used exclusively for gambling.

The operations’ stated purpose was to generate funds for a Florida-based charity called Allied Veterans of the World. Federal investigators found that of the $300 million raised by the casinos, only $6 million - about 2% - went to the actual charity.

Cuba, along with other police officials, used police union bank accounts at BBVA Compass and Bank of America to launder $420,000 in revenue from the internet cafes that they owned and operated. While Cuba originally faced additional racketeering and money laundering charges, prosecutors dropped most of his charges before striking a plea bargain that included no jail or prison time.

The criminal injustice system lets cops off the hook

The announcement of Nelson Cuba's light sentence comes amid national outrage over two grand jury decisions to not indict white police officers for the murder of two Black men. In November, a grand jury in Ferguson, Missouri chose to not indict Darren Wilson for the murder of 18-year-old African-American Michael Brown. Just days later, a New York grand jury also declined to indict white police officer Daniel Pantaleo for choking Eric Garner to death. Both injustices prompted nationwide protests against police brutality and the racist criminal injustice system.

In Jacksonville, police arrested 19 protesters on the order of Sheriff John Rutherford for obstructing traffic. Dubbed the 'Jacksonville 19' by activists and local media, the protesters slowed traffic on the Hart Bridge during rush hour traffic to demand justice for Eric Garner and Michael Brown.

Although the police sergeant on duty said that the protesters would receive written citations and verbal warnings, Rutherford ordered the police to arrest the entire demonstration. Jacksonville State Attorney Angela Corey continues to pursue charges against the Jacksonville 19.

Disgraced police union president was a close ally of Angela Corey

Although the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) calls itself a union, it actually operates to protect police from facing justice for racism, brutality and corruption. It also acts as a private organization for the police to leverage their political muscle and push racist policies through local and state government.

One of the main political objectives of the FOP in Jacksonville was putting Angela Corey in the State Attorney's office. Corey gained nationwide infamy for her botched prosecution of George Zimmerman, the racist vigilante who killed Trayvon Martin in Sanford, Florida. Activists in Jacksonville have called for her resignation because of her disproportionate prosecution of African Americans, particularly Black youth. In the entire state of Florida from 2006 to 2011, 52% of the male juvenile offenders tried as adults were African American, while white male juveniles comprised only 25% of those tried as adults. These inequalities alone are staggering, but in Corey's Fourth Judicial District during the same period, African American males comprised 70% of all juvenile offenders tried as adults, while white males comprised just 18%, according to an April 2014 report by Human Rights Watch.

In Jacksonville, the FOP under Nelson Cuba worked hard to put Angela Corey in the State Attorney's office. A deposition taken during a public records lawsuit that Corey filed in 2008 against then-State Attorney Harry Shorstein revealed, by their own admission, that Cuba and the FOP had decided to back Corey for the office in 2004. They offered Shorstein their endorsement in the 2004 election in exchange for his backing of Corey for State Attorney in 2008. Shorstein agreed, but broke the agreement by firing Corey shortly after he won re-election.

During the 2008 Fourth Circuit state attorney election, the Jacksonville FOP endorsed Corey and held political rallies on her behalf. Corey appeared at numerous campaign functions with Cuba and other Jacksonville FOP officials. In pure campaign donations alone, at least 10% of the $534,507.75 raised by Corey's campaign came from police officers or their families in 2008. Of the 504 donations from Jacksonville police and associated persons, about 43.1% were in amounts of $100 or more. Corey won the 2008 state attorney election with 64.38% of the vote; only about 12% of people in Jacksonville voted.

Corey also reaped substantial contributions from BBVA Compass bank, which made 15 separate donations to her campaign totaling $7469.13 starting in 2007. In federal depositions from the Allied Veterans racketeering case, prosecutors noted that Cuba primarily laundered money from his gambling ring through accounts set up at BBVA Compass, totaling $464,295.

Many community activists in Jacksonville have noted the close connection between corporate donors to Corey's campaign, like BBVA Compass, and the FOP. They say this further highlights the nature of the police as a tool of the banks and corporations to repress the people.


http://www.fightbacknews.org/2015/1/17/corrupt-jacksonville-police-union-president-pleads-guilty-corruption-case


 

US Treasury warns casinos on illegal sports betting

By Brett Wolf, Reuters

Posted Jan. 16, 2015

 

ST. LOUIS — U.S. casinos must take steps to combat illegal sports gambling, the Treasury Department has told an industry group in a letter that came just weeks before the Super Bowl, one of the biggest betting events of the year.

 

“Increases in sports betting conducted on behalf of third parties are facilitating criminal activity and posing a money laundering risk to the U.S financial system,” the Treasury said in a letter made public on Friday. The letter was dated Dec. 24.

 

The global International Center for Sport Security reported last year that 80 percent of global sport betting is illegally transacted, and therefore invisible to authorities. It said $140 billion is laundered annually through sport betting. The report urged governments to correct what it called a vulnerability of sport betting to organized crime.

 

The letter with guidance for casinos from Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network came in response to a Dec. 22 Thomson Reuters article, which said the department was likely to press casinos to take a greater role in fighting illegal sport book activity.

 

The U.S. National Football League’s Super Bowl on Feb. 1 yields one of the busiest sports book weekends of the year.

 

The FinCEN letter was addressed to the president of the American Gaming Association, the trade group for the U.S. casino industry. The AGA, citing the Thomson Reuters article, had asked FinCEN about its plans to issue guidance.

 

FinCEN noted that prior to the news of its planned guidance, it had been “planning on communicating to the casino industry directly with respect to a particular concern in this regard.”

 

Regulators and law enforcement authorities are concerned by intelligence suggesting that criminals are making bets with legal sports book operations, using intermediaries, or “runners,” to place bets, the Treasury bureau said.

 

“In these cases, the intermediaries rarely voluntarily disclose to the casino that a transaction is being conducted on behalf of a third party, thereby disguising the third party’s role in the transaction and obscuring the source of funds used to place the bet. This poses distinct money laundering risks for casinos,” FinCEN said in the letter.

 

Sports gambling is legal in only four U.S. states, including Nevada, home of Las Vegas. But illegal sports betting operations around the world, including online outfits, sometimes offset bets they receive by placing casino wagers, law enforcement sources told Thomson Reuters.

 

Runners have been known to loiter at casinos, keeping numerous mobile phones and tablets near them to receive orders from illegal gambling rings.

 

The letter reminds casinos that the Bank Secrecy Act requires them to ask gamblers whether their bets are for themselves, and to report any wagers for third parties as suspicious activity. The letter also reminds casinos that they must take a risk-based approach to compliance, focusing on gaming that presents the greatest money laundering threat.

 

In a statement responding to FinCEN’s letter on Friday, AGA President and Chief Executive Officer Geoff Freeman said the group “welcomes continued guidance from FinCEN.” He added that “members are committed to robust anti-money laundering measures” and that they “invest significant resources to tailor risk-based compliance programs for every corner of the casino, including sports books.”

 

Freeman said the risk of money laundering “is far greater in the vast, unregulated, illegal sports betting market than in the highly regulated, legal gaming industry.

 

“While casinos routinely look for suspicious bets at sports books and have worked with law enforcement to identify illegal activity, in some cases leading to criminal convictions, no such oversight exists for the illegal sports betting market,” he said.

https://bangordailynews.com/2015/01/16/news/nation/us-treasury-warns-casinos-on-illegal-sports-betting/

Vanek had $10M in gambling losses, was target of extortion plot

Attorney: Vanek had $10M in gambling losses, was target of extortion plot

Mike Halford

Dec 5, 2014

 

 

AP

 

 

 

 

Some big developments from the illegal gambling ring that involved Minnesota forward Thomas Vanek, from the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle:

A local bookie, Joseph Ruff, on Friday admitted to extorting a $230,000 payment from Vanek as partial payment of gambling losses Vanek owed. After the plea, Ruff’s attorney, Matthew Parrinello, said Vanek had owed upward of $10 million.

“He wasn’t very good,” Parrinello said of Vanek’s gambling performance.

Ruff pleaded guilty in federal court Friday to illegal gambling, an extortion conspiracy and a money-laundering conspiracy. The target of the extortion plot was not identified in court but Parrinello later identified the individual as Vanek.

UPDATE: Vanek’s agent, Steve Bartlett, told ESPN the report of $10 million in losses is “absolute fantasy,” and “complete fabrication.”

News of Vanek’s connection to the gambling ring surfaced in July, when his name appeared in an investigation that led to three individuals booked on multiple counts of gambling and money laundering charges.

In October, a report claimed Vanek endorsed one of his New York Islanders paychecks to Ruff — for $230,000 — to cover some of his gambling debts. That led to Bartlett addressing the situation, saying that while Vanek did wager on football, he was “not in any way, shape or form involved in any illegal activities or in trouble here.”

“He was a witness against this guy who was the bookmaker,” Bartlett explained. “He was the guy that wanted money and Thomas paid it to him. Thomas wasn’t involved in any bookmaking activities.

“Now people are like, ‘Oh, Thomas was a money launderer. That’s totally false. He was the bettor. He bet on football games. Obviously that’s what he was testifying to. It doesn’t take Einstein to figure that out.”

Following Bartlett’s statement, Vanek addressed the gambling issue himself.

“I’m not proud of the decisions I’ve made,” he said, adding that he no longer gambles.


http://prohockeytalk.nbcsports.com/2014/12/05/attorney-vanek-had-10m-in-gambling-losses-was-target-of-extortion-plot/