U.S. sports betting bust

The Rockland County District Attorney Thomas P. Zugibe announced the arrest of 14 people Wednesday on charges of unlawfully operating a sports betting enterprise that stretched from Rockland County to New York City and from Bergen County, New Jersey to Palm Beach Florida.

Zugibe said the ring is estimated to have taken millions of dollars in wagers a month over a 16-month period on a wide variety of sporting events that included basketball, hockey, baseball, college basketball and professional football.

“Such unlawfully earned profits are commonly diverted to more insidious criminal enterprises. In fact, the investigation uncovered evidence that the enterprise had links to organized crime,” he said.

The investigation, which was led by the District Attorney’s Organised Crime Unit, involved numerous State Police Investigative Units, the department of Homeland Security and the FBI.

The defendants were arraigned before Clarkstown Town Justice Rolf Thorsen under charges of Promoting Gambling, Possession of Gambling Records, Money Laundering and other offences but were released on their own recognizance.

The investigation is ongoing and further arrests are expected.

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