This is a prime example of why bookies shouldn't put things in there own name.
2 men get prison for running illegal sports betting ring
Paul Egan / The Detroit News
A 51-year-old Roseville man who admitted to supervising an illegal sports betting operation was sentenced to 30 months in prison in federal court in Detroit today.
U.S. District Judge Avern Cohn also ordered Peter Joseph Messina to forfeit assets, with the exception of his family home, to help satisfy a $3 million government forfeiture order against him and other defendants in the racketeering case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Keith Corbett told Cohn that Messina was involved in a wide range of criminal activities, from supervising the illegal gambling operation to collecting gambling debts to laundering proceeds through a used car business.
Messina is to serve two years of supervised release once he gets out of prison on the racketeering conspiracy charge, Cohn said.
Messina's plea agreement recommended a sentence of 30 to 37 months. His lawyer, Robert M. Morgan of Detroit, said Messina and his wife and daughter have already suffered financially because the government seized a substantial amount of cash from Messina.
Cohn also today sentenced Peter Messina's brother, 50-year-old Joseph Messina, of Macomb Township, to five years probation for conspiring to conduct an illegal gambling operation. Cohn also fined Joseph Messina $5,000.
Joseph Messina faced six to 12 months in prison under his plea agreement. His lawyer, Steven Scharg, asked for probation so Messina could keep his job at Ford Motor Co.
Cohn's courtroom was packed with family and friends of the two men.
In all, 15 people were charged in the case in March 2006. Prosecutors said the illegal betting netted $5.8 million between 1998 and 2006.
Paul Egan / The Detroit News
A 51-year-old Roseville man who admitted to supervising an illegal sports betting operation was sentenced to 30 months in prison in federal court in Detroit today.
U.S. District Judge Avern Cohn also ordered Peter Joseph Messina to forfeit assets, with the exception of his family home, to help satisfy a $3 million government forfeiture order against him and other defendants in the racketeering case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Keith Corbett told Cohn that Messina was involved in a wide range of criminal activities, from supervising the illegal gambling operation to collecting gambling debts to laundering proceeds through a used car business.
Messina is to serve two years of supervised release once he gets out of prison on the racketeering conspiracy charge, Cohn said.
Messina's plea agreement recommended a sentence of 30 to 37 months. His lawyer, Robert M. Morgan of Detroit, said Messina and his wife and daughter have already suffered financially because the government seized a substantial amount of cash from Messina.
Cohn also today sentenced Peter Messina's brother, 50-year-old Joseph Messina, of Macomb Township, to five years probation for conspiring to conduct an illegal gambling operation. Cohn also fined Joseph Messina $5,000.
Joseph Messina faced six to 12 months in prison under his plea agreement. His lawyer, Steven Scharg, asked for probation so Messina could keep his job at Ford Motor Co.
Cohn's courtroom was packed with family and friends of the two men.
In all, 15 people were charged in the case in March 2006. Prosecutors said the illegal betting netted $5.8 million between 1998 and 2006.
