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TRENTON
– Attorney General Anne Milgram and
Criminal Justice Director Deborah L. Gramiccioni
announced that another man has pleaded guilty
for his role in running a sports bookmaking
ring that operated inside the Borgata Hotel
Casino poker room.
According
to Director Gramiccioni, Anthony Nicodemo,
37, of Philadelphia, pleaded guilty yesterday
afternoon to one count of second-degree
conspiracy to promote gambling and launder
money. The plea was entered before Superior
Court Judge Michael A. Donio in Atlantic
County. Under the plea agreement, the state
will recommend that Nicodemo be sentenced
to three years in state prison. His sentencing
is scheduled for April 9.
The
charges stem from Operation High Roller,
an investigation led by the State Police
and the Division of Criminal Justice which
involved the assistance of 11 other law
enforcement agencies in New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
Deputy Attorney General Kerry DiJoseph took
the plea for the Division of Criminal Justice
Major Crimes Bureau - Casino Prosecutions
Unit.
On
Dec. 15, the boss of the ring, Jack Buscemi
Jr., 51, of Mullica Hill, pleaded guilty
to second-degree conspiracy to commit money
laundering, and the man who controlled day-to-day
operations of the ring, Andrew Micali, 33,
of Ventnor, pleaded guilty to second-degree
criminal usury. Buscemi and Micali each
face five years in prison under their plea
agreements.
The
investigation revealed that Nicodemo acted
as an agent of the ring, taking in bets,
and also had leadership authority over other
agents. In pleading guilty, Nicodemo admitted
that he was involved in a conspiracy to
commit gambling offenses and possessed or
transported gambling proceeds.
The
investigation revealed that the ring took
in more than $60 million in bets in 20 months.
The ring was shut down in November 2007,
when more than 20 people were arrested.
Buscemi, Micali and Nicodemo were indicted
on April 10, along with 21 other defendants.
Eleven
other defendants pleaded guilty before Judge
Donio in December to third-degree promoting
gambling for acting as agents of the ring.
They are Joseph Wishnick, 44, of Brigantine,
a former Borgata poker room supervisor,
Robert Mackie, 40, of Staten Island, N.Y.,
Ian Blackman, 29, of Mays Landing, Douglas
Rubino, 31, of Philadelphia, John Findaly,
32, of Philadelphia, Bernard Malseed, 65,
of Philadelphia, Dominick Grande, 29, of
Philadelphia, Russell Brown, 45, of Egg
Harbor, William DePena, 40, of Philadelphia,
Joseph Baldino, Jr., 24, of Philadelphia,
and Frank Baldino, 22, of Philadelphia.
The
state will recommend that each of those
defendants be sentenced to a term of probation,
with a condition that each man serve a jail
term of up to 364 days.
In
October, Michael Connelly, 59, of Parkville,
Md., pleaded guilty to third-degree promoting
gambling. He faces a sentence of 180 days
in jail as a condition of a term of probation.
The
investigation was led by State Police Detective
David Feldstein and his unit, the State
Police Casino Unit. The lead investigator
for the Division of Criminal Justice was
Sgt. Ronald Rozwadowski. The Division of
Gaming Enforcement also assisted.
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