Former
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Chief Executive Officer
Henry Paulson and now U.S. Treasury secretary, sold
his Goldman stake as part of his agreement with the
Office of Government Ethics, a White House aide
said.
Paulson owned 3.23
million Goldman shares as of March worth about $485
million today, according to regulatory filings.
White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said that in
addition to the Goldman stake, Paulson agreed to
sell some investment funds that she didn't specify.
Interestingly
enough, Goldman Sachs was - and still is - a major
shareholder in BetonSports.com.
The later company
and several of its past and present officers were
named in an
indictment on Monday.
A federal grand jury
in the Eastern District of Missouri has returned a
22-count indictment charging 11 individuals and four
corporations on various charges of racketeering,
conspiracy and fraud, the Department of Justice
announced today. The indictment was returned on June
1, 2006, and unsealed today.
BetonSports PLC, a
publicly-traded holding company that owns a number
of Internet sportsbooks and casinos, was among the
companies charged in the indictment. The founder of
BetonSports.com, Gary Stephen Kaplan, 47, was
charged with 20 felony violations of federal laws
including: the Wire Act, Racketeer Influenced and
Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Conspiracy, interstate
transportation of gambling paraphernalia,
interference with the administration of Internal
Revenue laws and tax evasion.
So will Paulson
have to change his stance regarding internet
gambling now that he has joined the Bush
Administration?
He probably has no
other choice.
Last week, the
House overwhelmingly passed a bill that would ban
online gambling. The bill, with all its carved
out exceptions, stood less of a chance making it
through the Senate by year's end.
----
Christopher
Costigan,
www.gambling911.com
Originally
published July 18, 2006 12:35 am EDT
