Paul Borrelli, a businessman from Rochester involved in a sports gambling ring, has been spared from further jail time.
On Tuesday, Chief U.S. District Judge Frank P. Geraci Jr. sentenced Borrelli to three years of probation and eight months of home detention, The Buffalo News reported. He was charged with illegal gambling and money laundering.
The 70-year-old businessman was also ordered to pay $1.2 million and to forfeit about $3 million worth of properties, bank accounts and cash that were seized during the course of investigation.
Federal investigators said Borrelli, along with brothers Mark and Joseph Ruff, owned—at least partially—and operated an online sports betting business from January 2012 to June 2014. According to a plea agreement reached in April, the three set up online accounts for bettors, set credit limits and also received cash payments for debtors and bettors.
Borrelli apologized to the court back in April, saying the whole ordeal has inflicted deep hurt on his daughter and three grandchildren, according to Democrat & Chronicle.
Rochester restaurant owner Joseph Ruff was sentenced to 41 months for his role in extorting $230,000 from National Hockey League player Thomas Vanek. Vanek previously played for the Rochester Americans, and the Buffalo Sabres before joining the Minnesota Wild.
Ruff’s brother, Mark Ruff, 40, was sentenced to nine years in federal prison last March.
Last week, Vanek’s former Buffalo Sabres teammate Nathan Paetsch was sentenced to eight months of home confinement, 400 hours of community service and a $265,000 forfeiture.
Paetschagreed to a plea bargain in June, in which he admitted to providing fellow gamblers with current odds on sporting events as well as making arrangements to collect debts, and keeping bettors informed of their credit limits and balances.
Paetsch, who now plays for Grand Rapids Griffins, confessed to receiving cash or credit from his bookies and to structuring a bank transaction to evade reporting requirements.
His lawyer, however, said Paetsch had no involvement with Vanek’s betting. Vanek reportedly lost possibly millions of dollars because of his wagering on pro football.
