FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (WSVN) -- A dozen high rollers accused of illegal gambling faced a judge Friday afternoon.
They were arrested and accused of participating in a multi-million dollar gambling and loan sharking operation with an organized crime family in New York.
The ringleader of what police dubbed operation "Butterball", 79-year-old Norman Weissman is being held on a $1.8 million bond and charged with racketeering and a slew of other crimes. The 12 suspects gathered and placed bets of up to $25,000 using Trapeze Sports in Costa Rica.
Sheriff Al Lamberti of the Broward Sheriff's Office said some gamblers believe what they are doing is no big deal.
The lead detective said the suspects paid dues to a mafia family to get permission to run the operation. "Well, in order to have such a large scale operation, you're going to pay homage to somebody that's in that type of illegal activity, and traditional organized crimes still has a stronghold in illegal sports betting," said Sergeant Tony Lanza of the Broward Sheriff's Office, "And in order for one to operate, they're going to have to do it with the blessing of one of the organized crime families."
Weissman has a long history of arrests for gambling, going back to the 1960s.