BY ALLISON PRIES
STAFF WRITER
The Record
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A Hackensack man was among more than three dozen people who were arrested Wednesday for running a $178 million nationwide online sports gambling ring, authorities said.
Joseph Fredette, 44, was picked up at his Prospect Avenue home by officers from the Hackensack Police Department and Immigration and Customs Enforcement for allegedly being one of nine “money collectors” in the operation.
He allegedly distributed, delivered and transferred gambling proceeds between members of the organization under the direction of alleged bookmaker Robert Baselice, 38, of Staten Island, authorities said Thursday.
The New York Police Department’s Organized Crime Investigation Division in conjunction with the Queens County District Attorney’s Office began investigating the enterprise in January 2007 after learning about two betting rings operating in Queens County, Florida, Nevada, Arizona, Michigan, Louisiana and Costa Rica. Using toll-free phone numbers and five gambling Web sites, the group handled thousands of wagers each month and generated $178 million in gross revenue between July 2007 and March 2010. The Web sites — crownsports.com, jazzsports.com, 5dimes.com, bigonsports.com and BetCris.com – were connected to a wire room in Costa Rica, which bounced the data through a series of servers in an effort to evade law enforcement detection, according to a press release from the Queens District Attorney’s Office.
STAFF WRITER
The Record
Print | E-mail
A Hackensack man was among more than three dozen people who were arrested Wednesday for running a $178 million nationwide online sports gambling ring, authorities said.
Joseph Fredette, 44, was picked up at his Prospect Avenue home by officers from the Hackensack Police Department and Immigration and Customs Enforcement for allegedly being one of nine “money collectors” in the operation.
He allegedly distributed, delivered and transferred gambling proceeds between members of the organization under the direction of alleged bookmaker Robert Baselice, 38, of Staten Island, authorities said Thursday.
The New York Police Department’s Organized Crime Investigation Division in conjunction with the Queens County District Attorney’s Office began investigating the enterprise in January 2007 after learning about two betting rings operating in Queens County, Florida, Nevada, Arizona, Michigan, Louisiana and Costa Rica. Using toll-free phone numbers and five gambling Web sites, the group handled thousands of wagers each month and generated $178 million in gross revenue between July 2007 and March 2010. The Web sites — crownsports.com, jazzsports.com, 5dimes.com, bigonsports.com and BetCris.com – were connected to a wire room in Costa Rica, which bounced the data through a series of servers in an effort to evade law enforcement detection, according to a press release from the Queens District Attorney’s Office.
Must have been operating like a PPH and laying off the wagers on the offshores.....so fukkin stupid. 