Gambling Operation Taken Down

The Associated Press April 4, 2005, 1:20 PM EDT More than a dozen suspects were arrested on Monday in an investigation of a mob gambling ring that took wagers on this year's NCAA basketball tournament and other major sporting events. Prosecutors allege the ring -- which involved a partnership between the Bonanno and Genovese organized crime families -- took $10 million in bets each year. Gamblers placed wagers at three bars in Queens and on an Internet site. The profits were used as "seed money to capitalize (the mob's) other more insidious forms of corruption, such as labor racketeering, drug trafficking, auto theft, insurance fraud and loan-sharking," Queens District Attorney Richard Brown told a news conference. During its busiest times, the ring received about $30,000 a day in bets, authorities said. Some were as high as $5,000. Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly noted the ring had taken wagers on Monday night's NCAA championship game in St. Louis. "There is no such thing as a friendly wager when the mob is involved," Kelly said. Copyright © 2005, Newsday, Inc.