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US Regulation
Web Sites Were Run Out of Costa Rica
Nearly a year after authorities arrested four men suspected of running Internet-based sports gambling rings, 36 people have been indicted on 250 charges related to the illegal enterprises.
Among those charged are Ralph S. DiPiero of Scottsdale; Lloyd Melton, a restaurant owner from Phoenix; Eugene Valentini of Phoenix, who owned a computer consulting business; and Steven Pokrass.
The four suspected ringleaders were among those arrested last year, but they weren't charged until now.
Three people have warrants out for their arrest because authorities couldn't find them.
Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio said Wednesday all of the people charged are accused of helping operate four gambling Web sites, which were run out of Costa Rica and often extorted money from people.
While the bets - sometimes up to $50,000 each - were made online, many of the gamblers exchanged funds with bookies in Arizona, which officials said violates state law.
"As far as knocking legs off like you see in the movies, they're not doing that," Arpaio said.
However, officials said threats and intimidation were common practice, and that loan sharks, or criminal lenders, would often lend people money at 50 percent interest. Those who were unable to pay what they owed were then threatened, authorities said.
"In Arizona we carefully regulate gaming," County Attorney Andrew Thomas said. "It's restricted to Indian reservations and certain racetracks, and those communities rely on that revenue."
Of those charged, all but one are Arizona residents, officials said. One suspect, Arnold Zigman, is from California.
The investigation took years, beginning in March 2005 with a tip to the sheriff's office about a possible illicit gambling operation in Chandler.
That tip bloomed into a massive undercover and wiretap probe that sent investigators to Los Angeles, Las Vegas, New York and Costa Rica.
Last April, two years into it, authorities announced the breakups of four suspected gambling rings and arrests of their suspected leaders.
Additionally, nearly 30 people who are suspected of helping to run the rings out of bars, restaurants and casinos throughout the area were also taken in.
Arpaio said at that time that he also expected to net 200 to 300 other people who made bets in the operation. But he said Wednesday that none of the gamblers have been arrested yet.
"We haven't given up on that," Arpaio said. "We're gonna make some arrests."
Also at a news conference last year, authorities displayed the opulent lives of the suspected ringleaders, showing off dozens of luxury and sports cars seized in the process and saying they intended to go after more than $145 million in cash.
That opulence led to a fight between three prosecuting agencies over who should deliver the charges in the case.
Originally, Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard was handling it.
But after learning that Arpaio had opened an investigation of Goddard's own actions in an unrelated matter, Goddard handed the case off to the Pima County Attorney's Office in Tucson.
At stake, however, was the cash seized in the investigation, with millions of dollars up for grabs to the county that won the convictions.
The money, called RICO funds, could later be available for the county's own law enforcement.
The Maricopa County Attorney's Office hired high-priced lawyer Dennis Wilenchik to pull the case back from Tucson. He did so last year, winning a court battle in Pima County Superior Court.
Thomas said Wednesday that his office will "potentially" pursue the funds during a civil case.
He said it's too early to know how much money the county would get.
This article is a reprint from Eastvalleytribune.com. To see the original article Click Here
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