TRENTON
- Attorney General Anne Milgram and Criminal
Justice Director Gregory A. Paw announced
that a Cherry Hill man was indicted today
on charges that he ran an Internet-based
gambling operation and had a stash of illegal
steroids and weapons.
According
to Director Paw, Vincent Filipelli, 53,
was indicted by a state grand jury on charges
of conspiracy to promote gambling, promoting
gambling, possession of gambling records,
possession of steroids and money laundering,
all in the third degree, as well as two
counts of fourth-degree possession of prohibited
weapons and devices and a single count of
fourth-degree possession of a weapon by
a convicted felon.
The state charges resulted from an undercover
investigation by the New Jersey State Police
Organized Crime Bureau and the FBI’s
Philadelphia Division that began in August
2005 and has already resulted in Filipelli
pleading guilty to a federal charge. Filipelli
allegedly controlled an illegal gambling
operation that accepted bets on college
and professional sports through the Web
site www.betoss.com. A second man pleaded
guilty to a state charge on Sept. 19 for
his role in the gambling operation. William
Motto, 52, of Cherry Hill, pleaded guilty
to a third-degree charge of promoting gambling
brought by the New Jersey Division of Criminal
Justice.
Filipelli
was arrested on state and federal charges
on Oct. 24, 2006 by New Jersey state troopers
and FBI agents. Investigators executed a
search warrant at his home and seized, among
other things, alleged gambling records,
numerous vials of steroids, hypodermic needles,
two stun guns, a dagger, and two billy clubs.
“This
is another outstanding example of state
and federal investigators working together
seamlessly to investigate and prosecute
crime,” said Attorney General Milgram.
“This investigation by the New Jersey
State Police Organized Crime Bureau and
the FBI has already resulted in Mr. Filipelli
pleading guilty to a federal racketeering
charge and a co-defendant pleading guilty
in state court.”
Between
March 9 and October 16, 2006, an undercover
New Jersey State Police detective allegedly
placed numerous bets on college basketball
games and professional football games with
Filipelli’s gambling operation through
the Internet site. As an approved bettor,
the detective was given a log-in number
and password to bet through the Web site.
On at least six occasions, the detective
allegedly met with Filipelli to pay off
losses at Filipelli’s farm in Atco
or the parking lot of a fast-food restaurant
in Cherry Hill.
Filipelli
pleaded guilty on April 27 to a federal
charge of interstate travel in aid of racketeering.
According to a federal complaint signed
on Oct. 23, 2006, an investigation of Filipelli,
a Philadelphia La Cosa Nostra Family member,
began in August 2005 utilizing two undercover
New Jersey State Police detectives. In pleading
guilty, Filipelli admitted that he, believing
that one of the detectives was an individual
who owed him a gambling debt, threatened
to put the undercover detective in the hospital
for a year if the debt was not paid. Filipelli
faces up to 20 years in prison on the federal
charge.
“The
gambling records, steroids and illegal weapons
that investigators found in his home speak
volumes about Mr. Filipelli, who has already
pleaded guilty in federal court to attempting
to strong-arm an undercover State Police
detective over a gambling debt, ”
said Criminal Justice Director Paw. “This
defendant must also face justice in state
court.”
The
state case against Filipelli was presented
to the state grand jury today by Deputy
Attorney General Jill S. Mayer, who also
handled Motto’s guilty plea.
The
third-degree money laundering charge carries
a sentence of up to five years in prison
and a $75,000 fine. The other third-degree
charges carry a sentence of up to five years
in prison and a fine of $35,000, while the
fourth-degree charges carry a sentence of
up to 18 months in prison and a $10,000
fine.
The
indictment is merely an accusation and the
defendant is presumed innocent until proven
guilty.
Motto
pleaded guilty on Sept. 19 before Superior
Court Judge Thomas A. Brown Jr. in Camden
County. Under the plea agreement, Motto
faces a sentence of probation conditioned
on him serving six months in jail and paying
a $5,000 fine.
Attorney
General Milgram credited detectives in the
New Jersey State Police Organized Crime
Bureau, under the direction of Colonel Rick
Fuentes, Superintendent, and special agents
of the FBI’s Philadelphia Division,
under the direction of Special Agent in
Charge J.P.Weis, for their work on the investigation.
Today’s
indictment was handed up to Superior Court
Judge Neil H. Shuster in Mercer County,
who assigned the case to Camden County,
where Filipelli will be ordered to appear
in court at a later date to answer the charges.
Filipelli has been held in the Philadelphia
Federal Detention Center without bail since
his arrest.
>>
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Indictment (238k pdf) plug-in
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