Crime
Philly Mobster Gaeton Lucibello Sentenced to 51 Months in Prison
Gaeton Lucibello, 59, of Philadelphia, was sentenced today to 51 months in prison for his participation in a racketeering conspiracy involving extortion and illegal gambling, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Zane David Memeger of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and George C. Venizelos, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Philadelphia Division.
Poker Pro Jonathan Duhamel Ex Girlfriend Beat Up in Prison, Home Invasion Trial Delayed
The ex-girlfriend of 2011 World Series of Poker Main Event champ Jonathan Duhamel has had her trial delayed after suffering a beating in prison.
Bianca Rojas Latraverse, who is accused of orchestrating a brazen home invasion of Duhamel’s suburban Montreal home last December, was involved in an altercation that left her face visibly marked. Latraverse attempted to shield her face upon leaving the courtroom Friday.
UBS Rogue Trader Labeled as ‘Naked Gambler’
(Reuters) - Former UBS trader Kweku Adoboli put the Swiss bank's survival at risk through naked gambling that risked up to $12 billion, cooking the books and lying to his bosses until his "pyramid of fraud" collapsed, a British court heard on Friday.
Adoboli, 32, is on trial by jury in London accused of fraud and false accounting that in the end cost UBS $2.3 billion. He has pleaded not guilty.
Nebraska State Senator Charged for Using Funds for Gambling
A Nebraska State Senator has been charged with using $63,000 in campaign funds to fuel her gambling addition.
Omaha’s Brenda Council was charged on Thursday with two misdemeanor counts of abusing public records.
Nebraska Attorney General Jon Bruning's Offices investigated subpoenaing bank and casino records.
The funds in question were spent at various state casinos during the period 2010-2012.
Council is running for a second term and has shown no indications of dropping out at this time.
- Gilbert Horowitz, Gambling911.com
What The US Government Alleges Howard Lederer Did With The Full Tilt Poker Player Funds
Distributions to Full Tilt Owners, Including the FTP Insiders 124: Rather than protect player funds as promised, Full Tilt Poker distributed hundreds of millions of dollars to its owners. Beginning in April 2007 and continuing through April 2011, Tiltware LLC’s Board of Directors, to wit, the FTP Insider Defendants, authorized the distribution of approximately $443,860,530 to the owners of Tiltware LLC, including themselves, further promoting and facilitating the ongoing illegal operation of Full Tilt Poker during this time period.
60 Gambling Machines From 40 Businesses Seized Throughout Phoenix
PHOENIX – (Associated Press) - Nearly 60 gambling machines were seized at more than 40 businesses across the valley and agents believe a criminal organization from California is behind the illegal machines.
State and federal investigators served search warrants at smoke shops, gas stations and markets over the weekend. The businesses had games similar to slot machines that allowed players to earn credits and cash them in for money -- but that's against the law.
The machines were taken from businesses everywhere from Surprise to Mesa to Phoenix.
DOJ Demands $42 Million From Full Tilt Poker Ring Leader Howard Lederer
The Department of Justice filed an amended civil complaint against four Full Tilt Poker executives including Howard Lederer, seeking more than $100 million total. Lederer is being told to fork over approximately $42 million.
The US Government is seeking the following:
The government is seeking the following judgments:
Raymond Bitar – $40.8 million
Howard Lederer – $42.5 million
Christopher Ferguson – $42 million
Rafael Furst – $11.7 million
Skybook.com Owner Sentenced to 2.5 Years in Prison
A St. Charles, Louisiana man, Anthony Buttitta, 43, has been sentenced to 2.5 years behind bars for tax evasion. He and his father, Dominic Buttitta, 69, of South Barrington, plead to two felony counts filed against them in U.S. District Court and were sentenced Friday by U.S. District Judge Milton Shadur.
Bookie Pleads Guilty in Philadelphia Mob Case That Will Delve Into City’s Violent Past
PHILADELPHIA (Associated Press) - A sports bookie has pleaded guilty to racketeering charges a month before eight co-defendants go on trial in a mob case.
Louis Barretta became the third person to plead guilty in the case, which focuses on what prosecutors say was gambling and loansharking within Philadelphia's La Cosa Nostra under acting boss Joseph Ligambi.
Malta-Based Online Gambling Company Head Jailed 14 Months
Dimitrios Drosos, 45, director of betting company Gold Victory Ltd, has been jailed for 14 months after being convicted of defrauding several people of a total of €500,000.
The court found that the Malta-based company had not paid winnings to several players and the accused had pocketed the money.
€70,000 paid by the accused as bail money were forfeited after it was established that Drosos,a Greek national resident in Kappara, had jumped bail and escaped from Malta.
He was re-arrested on the strength of a European arrest warrant.
Mobster James ‘Whitey’ Bulger Attorneys to Update Judge Ahead of Trial
BOSTON (Associated Press) — Federal prosecutors and lawyers for mobster James ‘‘Whitey’’ Bulger are due in court this week to update a judge on the exchange of evidence in the case.
Bulger is the former leader of the notorious Winter Hill Gang and was also an FBI informant against the Mafia. He’s accused of participating in 19 murders.
David Gzesh Confirms Sale of Seized Online Gambling Domains
Michael H. Berkens of TheDomains.com has confirmed that attorney David Gzesh purchased and put up for sale online gambling domain names previously seized by US authorities.
Massive Israeli Gambling Ring Busted: Arabian Race Horses Confiscated
Law enforcement in Northern Israel announced a major gambling bust on Monday. Dozens of top dollar Arabian race horses were also taken into custody during a raid on the operation.
Authorities believe the business could have been engaging in money laundering activities.
DOJ to Full Tilt Poker Head Howard Lederer: ‘Cry Me a River (Card)’
The Department of Justice has rejected a request by Howard Lederer’s attorneys to reconsider their client’s case on the grounds that poker was recently ruled a “game of skill” by a respected New York Supreme Court judge.
FBI Files on Joe Paterno Reveals Fear of Organized Crime and Gambling Threats
FBI files on Penn State’s long time former football coach, the late Joe Paterno, make no mention of former assistant coach Jerry Sandusky, who was sentenced in a child abuse case this summer. They do, however, point to the theory that organized criminal factions with gambling interests may have been threatening the head coach and his staff during the late 1970’s and early 80’s via a series of letters.
Full Tilt Poker’s Howard Lederer Uses ‘Skill vs. Chance’ Decision in Latest Defense
[Defense Request for Status Conference in USA v. PokerStars (Lederer, Ferguson, Furst) SDNY civil forfeiture proceedings:]
Illinois Governor Quinn Points to ‘Mob’ as Reason for Gambling Expansion Veto
CHICAGO — (Associated Press) - Citing Chicago’s reputation of mobsters and corruption, Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn vetoed a plan Tuesday to bring casinos to the city and four other areas, leaving irked lawmakers with the task of overruling him.
Judge Weinstein’s Ruling on Poker as ‘Game of Skill’ Could Spark Resurgence Online
Last week’s ruling by New York Supreme Court Judge Jack Weinstein that poker is a “game of skill” and not “one of chance” has many believing an online poker resurgence is on its way. So-called “games of chance” were previously prosecuted under a law used to eradicate organized crime.
In making his decision, Judge Weinstein relied extensively on the findings of a defense expert who analyzed online poker games.
Alabama Casino Lobbyist, Legislator Head to Prison for Gambling Vote Selling Scheme
MONTGOMERY, Ala. — (Associated Press) - A casino lobbyist and a former legislator who pleaded guilty in Alabama's gambling corruption case are now in federal prison.
A spokesman for the U.S. Bureau of Prisons said lobbyist Jarrod Massey reported Monday to the minimum-security prison camp at Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery. Former state Rep. Terry Spicer of Elba reported to the minimum-security prison camp in Marion, Ill.
Under China's Watch, Macau Won't Return to 'Gangster's Paradise'
(Reuters) - Three murders, hammer-wielding heavies, and a high-profile police swoop have raised concerns that Macau, the world's casino capital, may be backsliding to the bad old days of the late-1990s. And that's even before ex-triad boss "Broken Tooth" ends a 15-year jail sentence in December.
All this at a time when China's economy, the world's second-biggest, is growing more slowly - hitting gambling revenue and possibly making junket operators, who collect gambling debts in exchange for commission from casinos, more aggressive.
Sheldon Adelson’s Las Vegas Sands Allegedly Tied to Organized Crime Figure
Reuters was reporting late Sunday that the Las Vegas Sands had allowed a man identified by the US Senate as an “organized crime figure” to move US$100k in gambling credit from the Sheldon Adelson managed Sands to one of its Macau-based casinos.
Documentation of this alleged incident emerged in the wake of a lawsuit filed by a former Sands employee who previously claimed prostitution was permitted on the Sands Macau property.
From Rueters:
Fired CFO of Philly Archdiocese gets 2-7 Years in $900k Theft for Gambling Addiction
PHILADELPHIA — (Associated Press) - A finance executive who linked her $900,000 embezzlement from the Philadelphia archdiocese to the church’s sex-abuse scandal was sentenced Friday to two to seven years in prison.
Anita Guzzardi, 42, said she succumbed to gambling and shopping addictions after feeling betrayed by the church over the priest sex-abuse scandal.Guzzardi had worked at the Roman Catholic archdiocese since she was 20, and was making $124,000 a year as chief financial officer when she was fired last year.
Disgraced Former Santa Fe County Sheriff Greg Solano Turns to Poker to Pay for $25k Theft
Former Santa Fe County Sheriff Greg Solano wants to repay $25,000 he stole from his department through the sale of wood carved poker chip trays.
Solano, 48, plead guilty last year to five counts of felony fraud in connection with the illegal sale of county property that included bullet proof vests and gun holsters. He served six weeks in jail.
"I'm trying to just do everything right and pay back the restitution that is required of me," Solano told the Santa Fe New Mexican newspaper. "I'm trying to go back to some sense of normalcy with my family, life and everything."
New Leads in Brutal Murder of Wealthy Gambler’s Wife
A grand jury has revealed that new leads have come out in an investigation of the brutal beating death of Julie Mitchell, 34, the wife of a wealthy Oklahoma City gambler.
Grand jurors reported they are “optimistic that this case will ultimately be solved.”
Swedish Poker Pros Held at Gunpoint in Casino Cosmopol: Others Extorted, Murdered
A number of Sweden’s most prominent poker pros have become victims of extortion plots, armed robbery and even murder.
PokerStars Founder Isai Scheinberg Could See Charges Dropped in Wake of Poker Ruling
Following a New York federal judge ruling proclaiming poker as a “game of skill” and not “gambling” under current federal legislation, there is talk that charges against PokerStars founder Isai Scheinberg could soon be dropped.
Scheinberg founded what is today the world’s largest “real money” online poker room the very day the World Trade Centers were under attack in New York City, September 11, 2011.
Surgeon Thought he Would be “Mowed Down With a Machine Gun” During Poker Game Raid
A prominent surgeon testified in court on Tuesday that he believed a robbery was about to take place during a high stakes poker game in Chattanooga, Tennessee last April when in fact police had commenced a raid on the property.
Dr. Neil Spitalyn said he feared being “mowed down with a machine gun”.
“It sounded like the front of the building had collapsed," he added.
Spitalyn claims he hid behind a garbage can before police came over and handcuffed him. Another officer shot one of the card players.
Will Julian Assange Be Arrested by British Police: Latest Betting Odds (Video)
Intrade.com has just released a new market over the weekend on whether Wikileaks founder Julian Assange will be arrested by British police following word that the nation of Ecuador has granted the controversial activist/publisher political asylum in its London embassy.
Software Developer Executives Arrested in Connection with ‘Online Gambling Scheme’
Several executives from a Fort Worth, Texas software development company have been arrested Friday and charged with money laundering, felony gambling and organized criminal activity.
The company, HEST Technologies, claims to develop promotional systems for sweepstakes cafes, Internet cafes and nonprofit organizations.
Authorities allege the company's "sweepstakes" systems constitute illegal gambling devices by claiming to sell a lawful service as a means to induce people into gambling.
Howard Lederer Parties it Up in Las Vegas as DOJ Now ‘Flush With Full Tilt Poker Money’
Wendeen H. Eolis of Poker Player Newspaper was the first to reveal that great news was on tap for those owed monies by Full Tilt Poker. She’s proven to be an excellent resource for the poker community.
On Thursday, Ms. Eolis reveals that the “face behind Full Tilt Poker” over the past several years, Howard Lederer, was seen partying it up in Las Vegas after the deal was made official.
