One of Cantor Fitzgerald’s top executives is under investigation by the US Attorney’s Office for his alleged role in an illegal sports betting ring.
Lee Amaitis, is being accused of allowing runners in Nevada to place bets for an East Coast gambling ring known as the, “The Jersey Boys.”
The investigation into Amaitis’ activities follows a major bust at Cantor last year that brought down former Cantor Gaming Vice President, Michael Colbert and 24 others. Colbert recently plead guilty to gambling charges and has been cooperating with authorities ever since.
Though no one is saying as much, there appears to be a possibility that Colbert fingered his former boss in exchange for some sort of lenient sentencing. Colbert has already admitted pleaded guilty.
While none of the allegations against Amaitis have been proven in a court of law, the whole story put a major smear on Nevada’s biggest bookmaker. Cantor runs the sports books at big name Vegas casinos like the Venetian and has developed a reputation for introducing innovative technology.
The company is also known for taking big-time action from well-healed sports bettors. Among the allegations against Amaitis and Colbert is that they solicited large wagers to offset the risk introduced by Jersey Boy wagers. (Yes, the whole thing sounds like a storyline straight out of The Sopranos.)
Not surprisingly, the Nevada Gaming Commission is looking very closely at exactly what’s been going on at Cantor run sports books. Their investigation into who knew what and when should be completed withing the next few weeks.