Another one? Unless the 2 are tied somehow:
Dozens arrested in major gambling bustAllegedly handled half billion dollars worth of bets
Eyewitness News
(New Jersey – WABC, March 28, 2007) – Authorities in New Jersey say they have broken up an international sports betting ring on Wednesday that netted half a billion dollars worth of bets over the past 16 months.State and local officials throughout the Garden State arrested 47 people and are looking for 12 others as part of the ring, which they say used the Internet as well as a network of street-level operatives to take bets on pro and college sports.
“We have struck a powerful blow at the organizational level of an illegal gambling organization that has been reaping millions in illegal profits,” said Monmouth County Prosecutor Luis Valentin.Valentin said the ringleaders of the operation — 50-year-old Joseph Pasquale of Brick Township, 48-year-old Richard Crossan of Hillsborough in Somerset County and 52-year-old Ralph Santoro of Bridgewater — were charged with money laundering, conspiracy, racketeering, and promoting gambling.
The three suspects are being held on $1 million dollars bail and are due to make an initial court appearance on Thursday.
Prosecutors said several thousand bettors could make wagers using Web sites after being given a user name and password by members of the ring. Others used a toll-free number to contact the operation’s “wire room’ located in Costa Rica, officials said. Valentin said none of the battors were charged.
Valentin said that between August 2005 and February 2007, bettors placed more than $500 million worth of wagers and lost over $35 million to the ring.
In carrying out raids at 70 locations, authorities seized over $2 million in cash, froze numerous bank accounts, and seized 14 vehicles and a 28-foot yacht owned by Pasquale that was named “Risky Business.”
Officials are also looking to confiscate a waterfront home that Pasquale and his wife owned in Mantoloking worth several million.
(Copyright 2007 WABC-TV)