Sports bar betting case finalised

In a case involving illegal internet sports betting that has been lingering for two years, a US sports bar owner was sentenced this week for running an internet gambling operation out of his business.
WNEP-TV reports that Pat Patte (72), who has owned Patte’s Sports Bar in Wilkes-Barre for the last 46 years, was sentenced to 3 years probation, six months home confinement and a fine of $20,000.
Patte pleaded guilty last year to illegal gambling, in which investigators said bets were made and paid out at the Wilkes-Barre sports bar and online. Two other men, Patte’s Sports Bar manager Mark Fino and Christopher Marion, previously pleaded guilty for their roles in the illegal gambling ring.
Patte pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting the wire transmission of illegal gambling information, a felony for which the punishment is a maximum of two years in prison and up to a $250,000 fine.
Under his plea agreement, Patte will also pay $100,000 to keep the building that has housed his business and residence from being seized by the federal government. Patte will also be allowed to keep his bar open.
The bar owner was arraigned last year on the charges, which were filed by federal agents conducting a year-long public corruption probe. Most of the documents in the case, including affidavits presumably containing details of the charges, initially remained sealed.

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