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The three men, John Andriello, 66, of Pearl River; Marco Minuto, 60, of Old Tappan, New Jersey, and Brian Levine, 49, of Garnerville, were arrested Friday, Jan. 11, according to Acting Rockland County District Attorney Kevin Gilleece.
The DA’s Office said the men made at least a million by accepting wagers on various sporting events, including professional and college football.
According to the felony complaint, the highly sophisticated criminal enterprise was controlled by purported members of organized crime.
“These arrests close down a highly lucrative gambling operation that benefitted organized crime with large amounts of money every year,” said Gilleece. “Make no mistake: illegal sports betting is by no means a victimless crime. Its proceeds underwrite more insidious forms of corruption, such as racketeering, drug trafficking, and loan sharking”
All three defendants were charged with felony enterprise corruption and felony promoting gambling, the DA’s Office said.
They each face up to 25 years in prison if convicted.
Gilleece said the probe began several years ago when detectives from the Rockland County District Attorney's Office Special Investigations Unit developed information about a mob-run gambling ring operating in Rockland and launched a joint investigation with the state police Special Investigations Unit, the FBI, Town of Clarkstown Police, Town of Orangetown Police, Village of Spring Valley Police, Village of Piermont Police, as well as the Bergen County and Cape May County Prosecutors Offices in New Jersey.
The investigation included physical surveillance, intelligence information, and court-authorized electronic eavesdropping.
Together, Minuto and Andriello allegedly managed the ring's day-to-day operations, settling bettor disputes, authorizing and accounting the debts and payouts and supervising numerous, lower-ranking employees.
Search warrants executed at their homes recovered evidence of the gambling operation, the DA’s Office said.
Gilleece said customers placed online bets, with runners responsible for “squaring up” or “settling up” with the bettors collecting and paying out money owed.
The cash collected was handed to the members running the enterprise.
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