24 Indicted in Multi-Million Dollar Sports Gambling Ring That Operated Inside Poker Room at Borgata

April 10, 2008 -- TRENTON – New Jersey Attorney General Anne Milgram and Criminal Justice Director Gregory A. Paw announced the indictment today of the two top leaders and 22 others involved in a sports bookmaking ring that operated inside the Borgata Hotel Casino poker room and took in more than $60 million in bets in 20 months.

Borgata Casino, Atlantic City, New Jersey: Photo by iirraa (CC)

The ring was shut down in November when a multi-agency investigation dubbed Operation High Roller culminated in arrests and charges against more than 20 individuals. The investigation was led by the New Jersey State Police and Division of Criminal Justice with assistance from 11 other law enforcement agencies in New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

According to Director Paw, the Division of Criminal Justice today obtained a state grand jury indictment charging the alleged boss of the ring, Jack Buscemi Jr., 50, of Mullica Hill, and the man who allegedly controlled day-to-day operations of the ring, Andrew Micali, 32, of Ventnor, with racketeering, conspiracy and money laundering, all in the second degree, as well as third-degree promoting gambling.

Fourteen other alleged operators and agents of the ring were indicted on those same four charges, including Vincent Procopio, 42, of Philadelphia, who allegedly acted as Micali’s right-hand man; Anthony Nicodemo, 36, of Philadelphia, who allegedly exercised leadership authority over the ring; and two casino poker room supervisors alleged to have been agents who brought in gamblers and bets for the ring: Joseph Wishnick, 43, of Brigantine, a former Borgata poker room supervisor, and Jeffrey Ebert, 45, of Ventnor, a former Tropicana poker room supervisor. Eight additional defendants are named in certain counts of the indictment.

A full list of defendants and charges is included below.

“This ring took in more than $60 million in illegal wagers on sporting events in 20 months using password-protected Web sites and a Philadelphia wire room where bets were taken by phone,” said Attorney General Milgram. “Mr. Micali sought to attract high rollers by setting up shop in the Borgata poker room. He also attracted the attention of the New Jersey State Police. With cooperation from the Borgata, our detectives worked skillfully to uncover the massive scope of this criminal enterprise and build the case we presented to the state grand jury.”

Buscemi, Micali, Procopio, Nicodemo, Wishnick, Ebert and many of the other indicted defendants were initially arrested or charged by summons on Nov. 14 in the investigation.

The investigation, which began in March 2006, revealed that Micali relied on a network of agents to take in millions of dollars in bets on college and professional football and basketball. Micali, and Buscemi allegedly received a percentage of the gambling proceeds collected by the agents.

“Today’s indictment is an important step in bringing those responsible for this multi-million dollar criminal enterprise to justice,” said Director Paw. “I commend everyone responsible for this complex investigation and the grand jury presentation.”

“This investigation revealed everything that's wrong with unregulated, illegal gambling. There were many individual victims, but every citizen of New Jersey is the most important victim of this highly organized criminal venture,” said Colonel Rick Fuentes, Superintendent of the New Jersey State Police.

Deputy Attorney General Kerry DiJoseph presented the case to the state grand jury for the Division of Criminal Justice Major Crimes Bureau - Casino Prosecutions Unit. The investigation was led by State Police Detective David Feldstein and his unit, the State Police Casino Unit. The lead investigator for the Division of Criminal Justice was Sgt. Ronald Rozwadowski. The Division of Gaming Enforcement also assisted.

In addition to Wishnick and Ebert, five other men were indicted today for allegedly being bookmakers or agents who brought gamblers into the ring and collected losses from them or paid out winnings. They are Ian Blackman, 28, of Mays Landing; Matthew Zambanini, 28, of Hekessin, Delaware; Robert Mackie, 39, of Staten Island, N.Y.; Frank Baldino, 21, of Philadelphia; and Nicholas Caltibiano, 25, of Brigantine.

Three men were indicted for allegedly running the ring’s operations center or “wire room” in a house on South Alder Street in Philadelphia, where bets were taken by phone and processed. They are Joseph Baldino Jr., 23, John Findaly, 31, and Bernard Malseed, 64, all of Philadelphia. The owner of the house, Vincent Borgesi, 40, of Philadelphia, is also charged in the indictment.

Russell Brown, 44, of Egg Harbor, was charged for allegedly managing the ring’s illegal gambling accounts at the Web site EaglesDP.com, and Douglas Rubino, 30, of Philadelphia, was charged for allegedly managing its illegal accounts at Justwagers.com.

Four other alleged bookmakers were charged, not as members of Micali’s ring but for allegedly accepting “layoff bets” from Micali, meaning bets that Micali’s ring initially accepted but that were ultimately viewed as exposing the ring to unacceptably big losses if certain sporting events didn’t go their way. Those four men allegedly agreed to take over the layoff bets, allowing Micali’s ring to better balance its wagers. Those four men are Michael Connelly, 59, of Parkville, Maryland; Stephen Cassansanto, 37, of Philadelphia; William DePena, 40, of Philadelphia; and Dominic Grande, 28 (DOB: 4/14/79), of Philadelphia.

Micali’s mother, Marianne Micali, 63, of Philadelphia, and his girlfriend, Annie Grajales Ospina, 25, of Egg Harbor, are charged in the indictment for allegedly assisting Micali by receiving money from his agents and, in the case of Ospina, assisting with bookkeeping for the ring.

Another man, Mark Galasso, 24, of Philadelphia, was charged with a single count of third-degree money laundering for allegedly assisting Micali to convert $10,000 in cash to casino chips on Nov. 9, 2006, in order to conceal that the money was the proceeds of criminal activity.

It is alleged that Wishnick and other casino employees ignored exchanges of cash and casino chips made by the ring to avoid filing financial reports that are required whenever a transaction exceeds $10,000 or is suspicious in any way. The reports are intended to prevent money laundering at the casinos.

Investigators conducted extensive surveillance and observed the defendants conducting business in the Borgata poker room. They observed defendants accepting bets and settling up with bettors, either by accepting payment on losses or paying out to winners. It is alleged that some losers were forced to accept loans to cover their losses at an annual interest rate exceeding 50 percent, in violation of New Jersey’s criminal usury statute.

Second-degree crimes carry a maximum sentence of up to 10 years in state prison, while third-degree crimes carry a maximum sentence of five years in prison. The indictment is merely an accusation and the defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty. A copy of the indictment is available with this release at www.njpublicsafety.com.

Attorney General Milgram credited these agencies for conducting and assisting the investigation:

* New Jersey State Police Casino Unit
* New Jersey State Police Organized Crime Control Bureau South
* New Jersey State Police Digital Technology Investigation Unit
* New Jersey Division of Criminal Justice
* New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement
* Pennsylvania Office of the Attorney General - Organized Crime Section
* Ventnor City P.D.
* Margate P.D.
* Harrison Township P.D.
* Sea Isle City P.D.
* Galloway Township P.D.
* Brigantine P.D.
* Egg Harbor Township P.D.
* Franklin Township P.D.
* Philadelphia Bureau of Narcotics Investigation
* Borgata Security Department
* Borgata Surveillance Department

The following defendants were charged in today’s indictment with the listed crimes:

1. Jack Buscemi Jr., 50, of Mullica Hill. Racketeering (2nd degree), Conspiracy (2nd degree), Money Laundering (2nd degree), and Promoting Gambling (3rd degree).
2. Andrew Micali, 32, of Ventnor. Racketeering (2nd degree), Conspiracy (2nd degree), Money Laundering (2nd degree), Promoting Gambling (3rd degree), Criminal Usury (2nd degree), and Money Laundering (3rd degree).
3. Vincent Procopio, 42, of Philadelphia. Racketeering (2nd degree), Conspiracy (2nd degree), Money Laundering (2nd degree), Promoting Gambling (3rd degree), and Criminal Usury (2nd degree).
4. Anthony Nicodemo, 36, of Philadelphia. Racketeering (2nd degree), Conspiracy (2nd degree), Money Laundering (2nd degree), and Promoting Gambling (3rd degree).
5. Joseph Wishnick, 43, of Brigantine. Racketeering (2nd degree), Conspiracy (2nd degree), Money Laundering (2nd degree), and Promoting Gambling (3rd degree).
6. Jeffrey Ebert, 45, of Ventnor. Racketeering (2nd degree), Conspiracy (2nd degree), Money Laundering (2nd degree), Promoting Gambling (3rd degree), and Criminal Usury (2nd degree).
7. Ian Blackman, 28, of Mays Landing. Racketeering (2nd degree), Conspiracy (2nd degree), Money Laundering (2nd degree), Promoting Gambling (3rd degree), and Criminal Usury (2nd degree).
8. Matthew Zambanini, 28, of Hekessin, Del. Racketeering (2nd degree), Conspiracy (2nd degree), Money Laundering (2nd degree), and Promoting Gambling (3rd degree).
9. Robert Mackie, 39, of Staten Island, N.Y. Racketeering (2nd degree), Conspiracy (2nd degree), Money Laundering (2nd degree), and Promoting Gambling (3rd degree).
10. Frank Baldino, 21, Philadelphia. Racketeering (2nd degree), Conspiracy (2nd degree), Money Laundering (2nd degree), and Promoting Gambling (3rd degree).
11. Nicholas Caltibiano, 25, of Brigantine. Racketeering (2nd degree), Conspiracy (2nd degree), Money Laundering (2nd degree), and Promoting Gambling (3rd degree).
12. Joseph Baldino Jr., 23, of Philadelphia. Racketeering (2nd degree), Conspiracy (2nd degree), Money Laundering (2nd degree), and Promoting Gambling (3rd degree).
13. John Findaly, 31, of Philadelphia. Racketeering (2nd degree), Conspiracy (2nd degree), Money Laundering (2nd degree), and Promoting Gambling (3rd degree).
14. Bernard Malseed, 64, of Philadelphia. Racketeering (2nd degree), Conspiracy (2nd degree), Money Laundering (2nd degree), and Promoting Gambling (3rd degree).
15. Vincent Borgesi, 40, of Philadelphia. Promoting Gambling (3rd degree).
16. Russell Brown, 44, of Egg Harbor. Racketeering (2nd degree), Conspiracy (2nd degree), Money Laundering (2nd degree), and Promoting Gambling (3rd degree).
17. Douglas Rubino, 30, of Philadelphia. Racketeering (2nd degree), Conspiracy (2nd degree), Money Laundering (2nd degree), and Promoting Gambling (3rd degree).
18. Michael Connelly, 59, of Parkville, Md. Conspiracy (2nd degree), Money Laundering (2nd degree), and Promoting Gambling (3rd degree).
19. Stephen Cassansanto, 37, of Philadelphia. Conspiracy (2nd degree), Money Laundering (2nd degree), and Promoting Gambling (3rd degree).
20. William DePena, 40, of Philadelphia. Conspiracy (2nd degree), Money Laundering (2nd degree), and Promoting Gambling (3rd degree).
21. Dominic Grande, 28, of Philadelphia. Conspiracy (2nd degree), Money Laundering (2nd degree), and Promoting Gambling (3rd degree).
22. Marianne Micali, 63, of Philadelphia. Conspiracy (2nd degree), Money Laundering (2nd degree), and Promoting Gambling (3rd degree).
23. Annie Grajales Ospina, 25, of Egg Harbor. Conspiracy (2nd degree), Money Laundering (2nd degree), and Promoting Gambling (3rd degree).
24. Mark Galasso, 24, of Philadelphia. Money Laundering (3rd degree).