| TRENTON
- Attorney General Stuart Rabner and Division
of Criminal Justice Director Gregory A.
Paw announced that a Swedesboro man pleaded
guilty today for his role in a multi-million
dollar sports bookmaking enterprise.
According to Director Paw,
James A. Ulmer, 41, pleaded guilty today
before Superior Court Judge Thomas S. Smith
Jr. in Burlington County to charges of conspiracy
and promoting gambling, both in the third
degree. Ulmer admitted during the hearing
that he brought in bets for the bookmaking
ring. Under the plea agreement, Ulmer must
cooperate fully in the ongoing investigation
by the Attorney General and faces a jail
term of up to 364 days.
Former New Jersey state
trooper James J. Harney allegedly ran the
illegal gambling enterprise with former
Philadelphia Flyer Richard Tocchet. On Aug.
3, Harney, 41, of Marlton, pleaded guilty
before Judge Smith to conspiracy and official
misconduct, both in the second degree, and
third-degree promoting gambling. He faces
up to seven years in state prison and forfeited
hundreds of thousands of dollars in assets.
“Two men have now
pleaded guilty in connection with this investigation,
and we will move forward in a deliberate
manner until we have prosecuted everyone
responsible for this multi-million dollar
criminal enterprise,” said Attorney
General Rabner.
“Our attorneys have
secured these guilty pleas as a result of
the thorough investigation conducted by
the New Jersey State Police, which started
when they uncovered misconduct by one of
their own but which rapidly expanded to
take in the full breadth of this major bookmaking
operation,” said Division of Criminal
Justice Director Paw.
Tocchet, 42, of Phoenix, Arizona, who currently
is on leave from his position as assistant
coach for the Phoenix Coyotes, has been
charged with promoting gambling, money laundering
and conspiracy. Those charges remain pending.
The New Jersey State Police
Organized Crime Bureau began investigating
the ring in October 2005 when it uncovered
information that Harney was involved in
sports bookmaking.
As the investigation unfolded, Tocchet was
identified as an alleged partner with Harney.
Tocchet allegedly shared in the profits
and covered losses for the ring, which was
based in South Jersey and the Philadelphia
area but which took in millions of dollars
in bets from all over the country.
Supervising Deputy Attorney
General Mark Eliades, head of the Division
of Criminal Justice - Organized Crime Racketeering
Bureau, and Assistant Attorney General Robert
Leaman represented the Attorney General
at today’s plea hearing.
The State Police investigation
painted a picture of a highly organized
sports betting system, which in a 40-day
period processed over 1,000 wagers exceeding
$1.7 million on professional and collegiate
sporting events. As part of the investigation,
search warrants were executed at a number
of locations and voluminous records of sports
betting were seized, along with computers.
The Division of Criminal Justice employed
the criminal provisions of New Jersey’s
racketeering and money laundering statutes
to seize currency and other proceeds of
the alleged illegal gambling activity, including
various assets owned and/or maintained by
Harney and Ulmer.
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