Legends Sports Associate Enters Plea, Online Poker Payment Solution Enters US
These are the top gambling news stories here at Gambling911.com Monday June 26, 2013 (AM EDT). Follow us on Twitter here.
*Correction Officer Tied to Legends Sports Case Pleas Guilty – James Cerniglia, an Albany, New York corrections officer, plead guilty to promoting gambling, a misdemeanor, for his part in a sports betting ring in which wagers and payouts were routinely made at the jail.
When asked by the judge what he gained from the operation, Cerniglia responded: "Gas money ... once in a while."
Cerniglia was indicted in the Northern District of New York in Albany as part of a far-reaching sports betting case tied to a now defunct offshore gambling operation with US tentacles, Legendz Sports. Most of the Legendz Sports primary operatives were indicted in Oklahoma City.
Cerniglia is set to escape jail time and receive a conditional discharge at his Aug. 6 sentencing after facing up to 25 years on a charge of enterprise corruption.
Cerniglia wasted little time in implicating another Albany County jail officer, Timothy Robillard The Albany Times Union reported.
"What specifically did you do?" state Supreme Court Justice Joseph Teresi asked Cerniglia.
"I helped Timmy Robillard with the money, I dropped it off at his house," Cerniglia responded.
"Where did you pick up the money?" Teresi followed up.
"At the jail," Cerniglia answered.
"And this is gambling bets?" Teresi asked.
"Yes, sir," Cerniglia replied.
Cerniglia admitted to participating in unlawful gambling.
"You didn't do this for free, did you?" Teresi inquired.
"Yes, your honor, I did," Cerniglia answered.
"You didn't get a piece of the action? You didn't get gas money?" Teresi pressed.
*Bookmaker Whose Wife was Brutally Slain Pleads Guilty in Sports Betting Case- Oklahoma City gambler Teddy Mitchell has agreed to plead guilty.
His plea in his illegal gambling case is scheduled for July 8 in Oklahoma City federal court.
“Teddy admitted that he did some things that were wrong,” defense attorney Scott Adams said Tuesday. “He just wants to put this matter behind him and focus on his family and taking care of his daughter and trying to find out who murdered his wife. And that's where all of his energies are.”
The gambling case attracted widespread public attention because Mitchell's wife, Julie, 34, was brutally beaten to death in their home in November 2010. Teddy Mitchell was traveling out of the state at the time.
Her body was found in a closet where a safe was. Her unharmed daughter, London, then 1, was found beside her in a pool of blood.
*Bally Tech Will Offer Payment Solution for US Online Gamblers – Bally Tech, licensed in the state of Nevada to offer online gambling to customers in that state, will allow real money wagering via credit cards, debit cards and more through its new partnership with UK-based payment solutions company NETBANX.
Bally VP of business development John Connelly said: "A key part of our strategy is to partner with best-of-breed providers, and we have done that with Optimal Payments to secure access to their extensive expertise in payment processing and risk management services for the regulated U.S. gaming market."
- Gilbert Horowitz, Gambling911.com
