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TRENTON
– Attorney General Anne Milgram and
Criminal Justice Director Deborah L. Gramiccioni
announced that the two top leaders of a sports
bookmaking ring that operated inside the Borgata
Hotel Casino poker room were sentenced to
prison today. In addition, six agents of the
ring were sentenced.
According
to Director Gramiccioni, Jack Buscemi Jr.,
51, of Mullica Hill, and Andrew Micali, 33,
of Ventnor, were each sentenced to five years
in state prison by Superior Court Judge Michael
A. Donio in Atlantic County.
Buscemi
pleaded guilty on Dec. 15 to second-degree
conspiracy to commit money laundering. He
was ordered to pay a total of $20,000 in fines
and forfeit approximately $30,000 in assets.
Micali pleaded guilty on Dec. 15 to second-degree
criminal usury. Micali was ordered to forfeit
$125,000 in cash seized in the investigation.
The
two men were charged as a result of 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
Buscemi was the boss and Micali controlled
day-to-day operations of the ring, which took
in more than $60 million in bets in 20 months.
“These
prison sentences attest to our vigilance and
determination to keep organized crime out
of Atlantic City’s casinos,” said
Attorney General Milgram. “We dismantled
this criminal enterprise, and now we have
sent its leaders to prison.”
Deputy
Attorney General Kerry DiJoseph is prosecuting
the case for the Division of Criminal Justice
Major Crimes Bureau - Casino Prosecutions
Unit and handled today’s sentencing
hearing.
The
ring was shut down in November 2007, when
more than 20 people were arrested. Buscemi
and Micali were indicted on April 10, 2008,
along with 22 other defendants, 16 of whom
have also pleaded guilty. Six were sentenced
today for promoting gambling as agents of
the ring:
- William
DePena, 40, of Philadelphia, was
sentenced to 90 days in county jail as a
condition of three years of probation and
ordered to pay a $5,000 fine;
-
Matthew Zambanini, 29,
of Hockessin, Del., was sentenced to 270
days in county jail as a condition of three
years of probation and ordered to pay a
$7,000 fine;
-
John Findaly, 32, of Philadelphia,
was sentenced to 150 days in county jail
as a condition of three years of probation
and ordered to pay a $4,000 fine;
-
Joseph Baldino Jr., 24,
of Philadelphia, was sentenced to 200 days
in county jail as a condition of three years
of probation and ordered to pay a $6,000
fine;
-
Frank Baldino, 22, of Philadelphia,
was sentenced to three years of probation
and 150 hours of community service and was
ordered to pay a $5,000 fine.
-
Dominic Grande, 29, of
Philadelphia, was sentenced to 90 days in
county jail as a condition of three years
of probation and was ordered to pay a $5,000
fine.
Five
other defendants have been sentenced for promoting
gambling. On Feb. 13, Judge Donio sentenced
Joseph Wishnick, 44, of Brigantine, a former
Borgata poker room supervisor, to 270 days
in jail as a condition of three years of probation,
and Robert Mackie, 40, of Staten Island, N.Y.,
to two years of probation. On Feb. 20, Judge
Donio sentenced Russell Brown, 45, of Egg
Harbor Township, to 364 days in jail as a
condition of three years of probation; Nicholas
Caltibiano, 25, of Brigantine, to 180 days
in jail as a condition of three years of probation;
and Bernard Malseed, 65, of Philadelphia,
to a three-year suspended sentence.
Sentences
are pending for five defendants, including
Anthony Nicodemo, 37, of Philadelphia, who
faces a potential three-year prison sentence
on a second-degree conspiracy charge.
The
investigation, which began in March 2006,
revealed that Micali relied on a network of
agents to take in millions of dollars in bets
on college and professional football and basketball.
Micali, and Buscemi received a percentage
of the gambling proceeds collected by the
agents.
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.
Attorney General Milgram credited these agencies
for conducting and assisting the investigation:
-
New Jersey State Police Casino Unit
-
New Jersey State Police Organized Crime
Control Bureau South
-
New Jersey State Police Digital Technology
Investigation Unit
-
New Jersey Division of Criminal Justice
-
New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement
-
Pennsylvania Office of the Attorney General
- Organized Crime Section
-
Ventnor City P.D.
-
Margate P.D.
-
Harrison Township P.D.
- Sea
Isle City P.D.
- Galloway
Township P.D.
-
Brigantine P.D.
-
Egg Harbor Township P.D.
- Franklin
Township P.D.
-
Philadelphia Bureau of Narcotics Investigation
-
Borgata Security Department
-
Borgata Surveillance Department
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