Crime
Five Defendants to Plead Guilty in Case Tied to Poker Pro Paul Phua
(Associated Press) - Five defendants are poised to take plea deals in a federal illegal Internet gambling case in Nevada that stemmed from a disputed FBI raid last summer at high-roller suites at Caesars Palace on the Las Vegas Strip.
Attorney: ‘Extortion’ Check for Illegal Sports Betting Ring was From Thomas Vanek
WHEC in Rochester, New York is reporting that a second guilty plea has been entered into in connection with an illegal multi-million dollar sports betting ring with alleged ties to hockey player Thomas Vanek.
Joe Ruff and his brother are charged with running the business from their Marina Restaurant and Bar in Charlotte, New York.
Tiffany Stevens Murder-For-Hire Trial has Gambling, Sex and Million Dollar Baby
Tiffany Stevens of Bloomfield, Connecticut stands accused of hiring a hitman to kill her husband Eric Stevens. He’s still alive and, at times, it appeared as if the intended victim was the one on trial.
Defense attorney Hubert Santos laid it all out with the questioning.
“Did you communicate to her that her mattress be filled with blood?,” Santos asked.
“In 2009, yes,” Stevens responded.
Bail Dropped for Genovese Crime Family Associate Tied to Sports Betting Ring
A Superior Court judge has lowered bail From $400,000 to $300,000 for a reputed associate of the Genovese crime family accused of running a multi-state multi-million dollar sports betting operation that utilized wire room in Costa Rica.
Poker Pro Paul Phua Denies Organized Crime Ties in World Cup Betting Probe
Attorneys for poker pro Paul Phua (real name Wei Seng Phua ) denied he has any links to a Chinese organized criminal syndicate. Phua, a wealthy Malaysian businessman, and his son Darren Phau were charged this past summer with operating a World Cup betting ring out of a Las Vegas resort. Six others were also charged for their involvement in the alleged scheme.
14 Charged in Multi-State Sports Betting Bust
14 individuals have been charged with running a multi-state sports betting ring. Arrests were made in New York, New Jersey and Florida.
Rockland County, NY District Attorney Thomas P. Zugibe also seized $3 million from the business, which is alleged to have taken in millions of dollars per month.
Grandma Gets Spared the Pokey After Gambling Away Stolen $250k
An Auckland, New Zealand grandmother has been sentenced to one year home detention after stealing $200,000 from her employer to help support her gambling addiction.
Philly Mobster Turns Florida Maître d': Serves Up $14 ‘South Philly Beet Down’
BOCA RATON, Fla. (Associated Press) — A woman took Joseph Merlino's hand and towed him across the marble floor to her friends, who fussed over him, cooing.
Thai Prince Wants Wife’s Family Stripped of Royal Name: Tied to Gambling Scheme
Thailand Crown Prince Vajiralongkorn has requested that the Thai government strip his wife’s family of their royal name in the wake of a series of corruption arrests tied to gambling and smuggling rackets.
Princess Srirasmi Akharaphongpreecha is Crown Prince Vajiralongkorn's third wife, and the pair married in 2001. They are expected to divorce.
The princess’s uncle, a senior police general, was arrested over accusations of amassing vast wealth through the smuggling and gambling rings.
Kansas Man Who Robbed Bellagio Found to be Unfit for Trial
LAS VEGAS (Associated Press) - A 34-year-old Kansas felon has been declared psychologically unfit for trial in federal court in the July armed robberies of a Las Vegas Strip casino cashier and a bank.
Trial was canceled Friday for Scott Alan Carmitchel on charges of interference with commerce by robbery at the Bellagio and armed robbery of a City National Bank branch.
Six Men Charged With Plotting to Beat Up Man to Collect $40K Gambling Debt
Six men have been charged with plotting to beat up a Chicago area restaurant worker in an effort to collect $40,000 gambling debt.
Prosecutors claim that five of the six individuals have been charged with assault.
They knocked him to the ground and punched and kicked him, prosecutors charged in an indictment returned last week.
Gambling Nuke Commander Denies Bombshell Fake Poker Chip Allegations
A high-ranking admiral who once watched over the U.S. nuclear supply has denied any wrongdoing in a Navy investigation into counterfeit chips.
Rhode Island Ex-Attorney General in Hot Water Over Gambling Lobbying
A former Rhode Island Attorney General is being investigated to determine if he violated state lobbying rules by making appeals to his former colleagues on behalf of a Nevada gambling casino. Patrick C. Lynch, a Democrat, served from 2003 to 2010.
Wynn Resorts Probe for Possible Money Laundering Tied to Sports Betting
CNBC is reporting that Wynn Resorts is under investigation for possible money laundering, specifically sports betting by high rollers and whether VIPs laundered drug money through the company’s casino.
Rhode Island Mobster Sentenced for Running Sports Betting Ring
A high-ranking member of the New England mob was sentenced to a 10-year suspended sentence and 10 years probation before a Superior Court judge on Wednesday after pleading no contest to a charge of conspiracy to commit a felony and racketeering.
Edward C. Lato, 67, is currently serving a nine-year prison sentence in connection to a l $1.5 million extortion ring involving the shakedown of Rhode Island strip club owners.
‘Canary’ Mobster Who Helped Whack Brother-in-Law Gets Sentence of Time Served
A mob rat who helped in the 1988 murder of his brother-in-law has been rewarded with a sentence of time served – just three days.
Thieves Make Off With Thousands of Dollars in Casino Chips
UNCASVILLE, Connecticut —(Associated Press) Tribal police at the Mohegan Sun casino in Connecticut are searching for two men who made off with thousands of dollars worth of gambling chips.
Police say one of the suspects took the chips off a casino table Friday night and punched the victim, who tried to confront the thief.
Authorities say the robber then ran off and left the casino with another man, and both drove away in a maroon-colored vehicle.
Appeals Court to Re-Hear Case of Ex-FBI Agent Turned Mobster
MIAMI (Associated Press) — A Florida appeals court in February will reconsider its decision to toss the murder conviction and prison sentence for a former FBI agent in a mob-style killing linked to jailed Boston mobster James “Whitey” Bulger.
The 3rd District Court of Appeal set oral arguments Feb. 12 in the case of ex-agent John Connolly. A three-judge panel of the court ruled in May that Connolly’s second-degree murder conviction was barred by the statute of limitations because a firearms enhancement was improperly applied.
FBI Defends Ruse to Shut Off to Shut Off Internet in Gambling Case
WASHINGTON – (Associated Press) - An elaborate FBI ruse to shut off the Internet in three luxury Las Vegas suites and then send undercover agents into the rooms to fix the problem was a legitimate law enforcement practice, an assistant U.S. attorney wrote in a court filing defending the practice.
Subpoena Fight Resolved Over FBI-Caesars Search in Phua Sports Betting Case
LAS VEGAS (Associated Press) — A federal judge in Nevada heard defense attorneys allege Thursday that the FBI improperly enlisted Caesars Palace officials to obtain a crucial search warrant before arresting eight men now charged with setting up an international Internet gambling hub at the Las Vegas Strip resort.
Thomas Vanek Reportedly Target of Extortion Attempt by Local Gambling Ring
Reports surfaced this week that National Hockey League star Thomas Vanek may have been the subject of an extortion attempt by a local gambling syndicate.
NetWest Bank Manager Who Used Pensioners Funds to Play Online Poker Sentenced
A Natwest manager who skimmed £185,000 from pensioners' funds to help fuel his online poker addiction has been sentenced to 15 months prison time.
Glenn Mason managed a bank branch in Kent for many years before the improprieties were uncovered.
Van der Sloot Stabbed in Lima Prison, Seriously Injured
Convicted killer Joran van der Sloot has reportedly been stabbed in a Lima, Peru prison and is seriously injured.
The 27-year-old Van der Sloot is serving a 28-year sentence for the murder of a local girl he met at a Lima casino in 2010. At the time, van der Sloot was attending the Latin American Poker Tour. He was previously a suspect in the 2005 disappearance of an Alabama High School graduate who had been vacationing in Aruba.
Bookmaker Pleads Guilty: Claims Gambling Debt Tied to NHL Team, Thomas Vanek
A Rochester, New York area bookmaker plead guilty Thursday to laundering $230,000 in monies derived from gambling, a debt his attorney claims was made with a New York Islanders NHL team check.
Shocking Reveal in Phua Gambling Case: Feds Impersonated Computer Repairmen
In a shocking revelation Wednesday, the New York Post reports that federal agents dressed as computer repairmen in order to gain access to computers used by the father-son tandem of poker players Wei Seng Phua (AKA Paul Phua) and Darren Wai Kit Phua. Both are accused of operating an elaborate World Cup betting ring from their high priced villas in Las Vegas back in July.
Mobster Skinny Joey Merlino Will Surrender to Feds After Meeting With ‘Bad Guys’
Retired mobster “Skinny” Joey Merlino, 52, is set to head back to prison, at least for a brief time.
Offshore Gambling Kingpin Captured Snorting Heroin at NJ Rest Stop
Reputed Genovese crime family member Vincent Coppola was arrested this past week as part of a roundup of individuals tied to what New Jersey authorities call an elaborate racketeering operation.
Joey Merlino, Ex-Mob Boss, Gets 4 Months For Meeting Friend
PHILADELPHIA (Associated Press) — A reputed former mob boss was ordered back to prison Friday for violating parole, and his lawyer complained that the FBI would pursue his client "to the grave."
Joseph "Skinny Joey" Merlino, the reputed head of Philadelphia's La Cosa Nostra in the 1990s, must serve four additional months for failing to report a meeting with a former co-defendant at a Boca Raton, Florida, cigar bar.
Romanian Princess Gets Probation in Cockfighting Case
PORTLAND, Ore. — (Associated Press) - A Romanian princess was sentenced Wednesday to probation after apologizing for her role in an Oregon cockfighting enterprise that she said brought shame to her and her family.
Ex-Palms Sportsbook Employee Charged in Bet-Rigging Gets Probation
LAS VEGAS — (Associated Press) - A former Las Vegas casino worker was sentenced in federal court to probation and must pay restitution for his role in what authorities say was an $800,000 betting fraud scheme.
Matthew Kidle, 31, apologized before sentencing Monday by U.S. District Judge Jennifer Dorsey in Las Vegas, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported.
