Police bust up largest gambling ring in Syracuse history

By WILLIAM KATES Associated Press Writer May 24, 2005, 2:20 PM EDT SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- Nearly four dozen people, including a state trooper, were arrested Tuesday for their roles in a $20 million sports gambling ring that took bets from across the country and laundered the money through a clearinghouse in Costa Rica. Syracuse Police Capt. Tim Laun said the illegal operation was the largest ever uncovered in the city of Syracuse. "This is real big ... It was nothing for people to drop a couple thousand dollars a game," Laun said. Authorities identified the ring's head bookie as 60-year-old George Bedigian, who ran the operation out of his Syracuse home. Bedigian was charged with 237 felony counts of promoting gambling, possessing gambling records and money laundering. Bedigian had been the target of a number of gambling investigations dating back to the 1970s, Laun said. As a result of Bedigian's long history, local and state police spent 15 months using wiretaps and surveillance to learn the ring's business and administrative operations, Laun said. Detectives recovered over $155,000 in illegal cash proceeds during the case, he said. Members of the ring accepted bets from gamblers from Massachusetts to Nevada on NFL games, college basketball and other sporting events. Those bets were forwarded to Bedigian, who also accepted bets directly himself. Laun said that from August 2004 through April, Bedigian handled over $20.3 million in illegal betting action, netting about $2 million for himself. Some of the wagers were channeled through a clearinghouse in Costa Rica known as "Safe Deposit Sports," either over the Internet or through 1-800 numbers, Laun said. Relaxed banking regulations in Costa Rica facilitated the transfer of the money, he said. Most of the other 45 people arrested were charged with accepting or transmitting illegal wagers, including Dennis J. Burgos, 40, an 11-year veteran state trooper who was arrested when he showed up at the North Syracuse barracks for work Tuesday morning. Burgos was arrested on two felony counts of promoting gambling, as well as three misdemeanor charges. State Police Staff Inspector William Foley said each of the felony counts accused Burgos of handling bets totaling more than $5,000 in a given day, some of which he placed while on duty. Burgos was immediately suspended without pay and relieved of his shield and gun pending an internal administrative review, Foley said.