TRENTON
– Attorney General Anne Milgram and
Criminal Justice Director Deborah L. Gramiccioni
announced that three men were sentenced today
in Atlantic County for acting as agents of
a multi-million dollar sports bookmaking ring
that operated in the Borgata poker room.
According
to Director Gramiccioni, Superior Court Judge
Michael A. Donio ordered the defendants to
serve these sentences:
-
Russell Brown, 45, of Egg
Harbor Township, was sentenced to 364 days
in county jail as a condition of three years
of probation, and was ordered to pay a $5,000
fine.
- Nicholas
Caltibiano, 25, of Brigantine,
was sentenced to 180 days in county jail
as a condition of three years of probation,
and was ordered to pay a $3,500 fine.
- Bernard
Malseed, 65, of Philadelphia, received
a three-year prison sentence, but implementation
of the sentence was suspended by the judge.
He was ordered to pay a $500 fine.
In
pleading guilty, the defendants admitted that
they acted as agents for the gambling ring,
which took in millions of dollars in bets
on college and professional football and basketball
games. The agents admitted that they brought
people into the ring, accepted bets and settled
up with bettors.
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. 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. Deputy
Attorney General Kerry DiJoseph is prosecuting
the case 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. Another
leader in the ring, Anthony Nicodemo, 37,
of Philadelphia, pleaded guilty on Jan. 6.
to second-degree conspiracy to promote gambling
and launder money. He faces three years in
state prison under his plea agreement. Buscemi
and Micali are scheduled to be sentenced on
Feb. 27, and Nicodemo is scheduled to be sentenced
on April 9. Twelve other defendants have pleaded
guilty to third-degree promoting gambling.
Two have been sentenced, and 10 are awaiting
sentence.
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