New Jersey busts illegal online sports betting operation run by senior citizens

new-jersey-119green-playhere247-betritz-wagerplaceOn Thursday, the New Jersey state senate passed a resolution in support of the push to bring legal sports betting to Atlantic City casinos and state racetracks. The entirely symbolic resolution will have no bearing on whether the US Supreme Court will decide to hear the state’s appeal of the lower court decisions blocking its sports betting plans. The Court is expected to announce its decision on Monday, June 23.

In the meantime, sports betting in New Jersey remains illegal, as evidenced by Friday’s arrest of some 29 individuals by the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office. The authorities executed 42 search warrants across New Jersey and New York that resulted in the seizure of around $800k in cash. The illegal credit betting operation is believed to have netted around $3m during the past year while handling wagers totaling over $50m on football, basketball, baseball, hockey and horse racing.

The Bergen Country Prosecutor’s Office Special Investigation Squad began its investigation into the betting ring in February. The ring appears to have been a classic credit betting operation, with numerous agents maintaining stables of bettors while collecting losses and paying out winnings in person. The ring utilized numerous password-protected international websites to process their wagers, including beteagle.com, 119green.net, betritz.com, playhere247.com, thewagerplace.com as well as Costa Rica-based mainstay BetCRIS. (Bergen County’s official release on the arrests misidentified two of the sites as 199green.net and playhere24/7.com.)

The defendants, many of whom are in their 60s and 70s, are facing charges of conspiracy to promote gambling, money laundering and racketeering. Gary Latawiec (76) and Anthony Pintabona (72) have been pegged as the ringleaders, with Patrick Caporizzo (65) and James Roberts (62) described as ‘middle managers.’ Latawiec was convicted of running a Costa Rica-based toll-free telephone wagering operation in the early 1990s. Christine Larva, the lone woman arrested, is 71 years old.

The four main defendants appeared in court on Friday where bail ranging from $500k to $1m was set. Judge Liliana S. DeAvila-Silebi didn’t allow the defendants the option of posting the traditional 10% cash alternative to bail. The investigation into the betting ring is still ongoing.