Link: http://www.naplesnews.com/npdn/bonitanews/article/0,2071,NPDN_14894_3040753,00.html
Man pleads guilty in sports betting case
By KRISTEN ZAMBO, klzambo@naplesnews.com
July 16, 2004
The ninth of 14 Southwest Florida men charged in April with illegally directing clients to bet on sporting events at offshore casinos pleaded guilty Thursday in federal court.
Gerard H. Hendel, 42, formerly of Fort Myers, pleaded guilty to one count of violating the Wire Wager Act and promised to keep cooperating with FBI investigators as they look further into the world of offshore betting to circumvent state laws in Southwest Florida.
Nicknamed "Sonny Black," Hendel pleaded guilty because he needed to, his lawyer said after the hearing.
"There's always been a question of the legality of advising and assisting people in placing bets," defense attorney Wilbur Smith III said outside of the courtroom after the plea hearing. "In my opinion, it is illegal."
The ring has been called by investigators the largest of its kind in Lee County history.
Federal prosecutors accuse the 14 of offering expertise in sports betting through a pair of Web sites, a syndicated radio talk show with John J. Rodney Jr., 42, formerly of Estero, using the alias "Dan 'the Man' Wilson" and telephone solicitations.
They say Rodney, Robert E. Robitzek, 40, of Fort Myers and their staffs gave bettors tips on which bets to place and with which casinos — referring bettors to the offshore parlors Fair Deal Sports and Five Card Charlie in the West Antilles and to SBG Global in Costa Rica. These casinos in turn provided the sports wagering companies with access to clients' betting information and account balances, the federal indictment says.
The companies received money back from these casinos as referral fees after clients placed their bets as directed.
Hendel faces a maximum of two years in prison, up to a $250,000 fine and no more than one year of probation because of his plea. There is no mandatory minimum sentence. A sentencing date has not been scheduled for Hendel.
Each defendant faces a maximum of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine if convicted as charged at trial. However, plea deals usually carry lighter sentences because of defendants' cooperation with prosecutors and the chance of testifying against other defendants at trial.
Smith said Hendel could receive probation because he was merely an employee. Smith said the companies were targeted because a disgruntled client, who lost more than $1 million in sporting wagers, squealed on the south Fort Myers business.
"He felt he had been misled," Smith said outside of the courtroom.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Michelland declined to comment on Smith's allegation or the investigation.
"We prosecute cases where federal crimes have been committed," he said.
Investigators have said the ring fell under investigation after a Lee sheriff's corporal became suspicious of possible illegal activity when he and local firefighters responded to a fire alarm call on Dec. 15, 2002, at the World Plaza shopping center in south Fort Myers. After a 17-month local and federal investigation, the men were arrested and charged.
Hendel, who since his arrest has moved back to New York and resumed working as a Pepsi truck driver, appeared before U.S. District Court Magistrate Douglas N. Frazier to divulge his involvement in the betting operation and how it worked in its heyday.
"From August 2002 until we were arrested, I worked for National Sports Consultants," Hendel said. "I would advise them (clients) where they could place their bets offshore and who they should bet on. We would recommend the offshore casino in Curacao."
Curacao is in the West Antilles.
According to the indictment, Hendel worked as the registered agent and director of G-Man Sports, Inc., which was an offshoot of the main sports betting companies. On March 4, 2003, Hendel spoke with an undercover agent about opening an account with the offshore betting parlor Fair Deal Sports in Curacao, according to the indictment.
"So I don't know how much it is to send twenty," Hendel is reported to have said, according to the indictment. "You're probably gonna have to send in three payments because you don't want to send over $10,000 from one Western Union, so what you would do is, send it in uh, two or three different payments to get it over there. They'll tell you exactly how to do it."
Hendel told Frazier Thursday that he worked on a commission, and didn't know it at the time, but learned from the indictment that money for these commissions were sent between banks by wire transfers.
http://www.naplesnews.com/npdn/bonitanews/article/0,2071,NPDN_14894_3040753,00.html
Man pleads guilty in sports betting case
By KRISTEN ZAMBO, klzambo@naplesnews.com
July 16, 2004
The ninth of 14 Southwest Florida men charged in April with illegally directing clients to bet on sporting events at offshore casinos pleaded guilty Thursday in federal court.
Gerard H. Hendel, 42, formerly of Fort Myers, pleaded guilty to one count of violating the Wire Wager Act and promised to keep cooperating with FBI investigators as they look further into the world of offshore betting to circumvent state laws in Southwest Florida.
Nicknamed "Sonny Black," Hendel pleaded guilty because he needed to, his lawyer said after the hearing.
"There's always been a question of the legality of advising and assisting people in placing bets," defense attorney Wilbur Smith III said outside of the courtroom after the plea hearing. "In my opinion, it is illegal."
The ring has been called by investigators the largest of its kind in Lee County history.
Federal prosecutors accuse the 14 of offering expertise in sports betting through a pair of Web sites, a syndicated radio talk show with John J. Rodney Jr., 42, formerly of Estero, using the alias "Dan 'the Man' Wilson" and telephone solicitations.
They say Rodney, Robert E. Robitzek, 40, of Fort Myers and their staffs gave bettors tips on which bets to place and with which casinos — referring bettors to the offshore parlors Fair Deal Sports and Five Card Charlie in the West Antilles and to SBG Global in Costa Rica. These casinos in turn provided the sports wagering companies with access to clients' betting information and account balances, the federal indictment says.
The companies received money back from these casinos as referral fees after clients placed their bets as directed.
Hendel faces a maximum of two years in prison, up to a $250,000 fine and no more than one year of probation because of his plea. There is no mandatory minimum sentence. A sentencing date has not been scheduled for Hendel.
Each defendant faces a maximum of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine if convicted as charged at trial. However, plea deals usually carry lighter sentences because of defendants' cooperation with prosecutors and the chance of testifying against other defendants at trial.
Smith said Hendel could receive probation because he was merely an employee. Smith said the companies were targeted because a disgruntled client, who lost more than $1 million in sporting wagers, squealed on the south Fort Myers business.
"He felt he had been misled," Smith said outside of the courtroom.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Michelland declined to comment on Smith's allegation or the investigation.
"We prosecute cases where federal crimes have been committed," he said.
Investigators have said the ring fell under investigation after a Lee sheriff's corporal became suspicious of possible illegal activity when he and local firefighters responded to a fire alarm call on Dec. 15, 2002, at the World Plaza shopping center in south Fort Myers. After a 17-month local and federal investigation, the men were arrested and charged.
Hendel, who since his arrest has moved back to New York and resumed working as a Pepsi truck driver, appeared before U.S. District Court Magistrate Douglas N. Frazier to divulge his involvement in the betting operation and how it worked in its heyday.
"From August 2002 until we were arrested, I worked for National Sports Consultants," Hendel said. "I would advise them (clients) where they could place their bets offshore and who they should bet on. We would recommend the offshore casino in Curacao."
Curacao is in the West Antilles.
According to the indictment, Hendel worked as the registered agent and director of G-Man Sports, Inc., which was an offshoot of the main sports betting companies. On March 4, 2003, Hendel spoke with an undercover agent about opening an account with the offshore betting parlor Fair Deal Sports in Curacao, according to the indictment.
"So I don't know how much it is to send twenty," Hendel is reported to have said, according to the indictment. "You're probably gonna have to send in three payments because you don't want to send over $10,000 from one Western Union, so what you would do is, send it in uh, two or three different payments to get it over there. They'll tell you exactly how to do it."
Hendel told Frazier Thursday that he worked on a commission, and didn't know it at the time, but learned from the indictment that money for these commissions were sent between banks by wire transfers.
http://www.naplesnews.com/npdn/bonitanews/article/0,2071,NPDN_14894_3040753,00.html
