Sportsbetting website owner sentenced to 18 months in jail
News on 29 Jul 2015
News on 29 Jul 2015
Online sportsbook Beteagle owner Joseph Graziano (78) of Springfield, New Jersey, has been sentenced in a Newark federal court to 18 months in prison for illegal sports betting conspiracy, United States Attorney Paul J Fishman announced Tuesday.
The sentence follows a guilty plea before Judge Claire C Cecchi, who handed down the sentence.
According to court documents filed in this case and statements made in court Graziano was the principal owner of Beteagle.com, a website located in Costa Rica and used to facilitate illegal online sports betting, with links to a US organised crime family.
In addition to the prison term, Judge Cecchi ordered Graziano to serve three years of supervised release and pay a $16,000 fine. As part of his plea agreement, Graziano has forfeited $1 million to the United States.
One of his associates, Dominick J Barone, previously pleaded guilty to his role in the illegal operation and was sentenced to 18 months in prison on June 16, 2015.
A third defendant, “capo” Joseph Lascala (83) is still to be charged
The prosecutions resulted from a large enforcement operation that involved the FBI; the Bayonne Police Department, Special Investigations Unit; IRS-Criminal Investigation; the NJ. State Police, and the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office.
