October 30th 1992.
This paticular story goes back aways as it happend over 15 years ago and it involves the cleanest cut guy of our so called betting crew or at least thats what we thought......
His name was Jeff and he said he was from New York. He was a clean cut well dressed guy whom worked as a runner for a guy who used to be a trader on the NYSE before he got banned for insider trading back in the late 80's/early 90's. Now imagine that.
hno:
He seemed normal enough. He bet the games for a little bit more than the rest of us and he was really good at turning over his money and keeping a good bankroll on him at all times. He also managed to pay the rent by the month as he lived in my neighborhood. For some odd reason he would never let me know where or ever let me come over there.
In any event you think you get to know a guy after awhile. We hung out quite a bit, he would come over to the house and hang out when he wasn't working and we did a few things together that did not involve gambling on the strip or anything like that. Just your average friend or so I thought.
Anyways, I rememeber this particular date because it would be the last time I would see him and also the last person to see him.
It was a day like any other day. I went to work at the Tropicana that day (a friday)and when I got off he came up to me and said that he had two tickets to the Charlotte Hornets/Portland Trailblazers preseason game at the Thomas and Mack center, did I want to go? Hell yeah I want to go I said. Okay he says, I will come by at 7. So we go to the game and all and it was a great game at that, right down to the wire. You would have never known it was preseason game. So after the game we walk home and we get to my house he says goodbye I will see you tommorow. I say okay, see you.
Now the next day is Saturday and of course its a big college football betting day. So I get up early and head to work at the Trop. No sooner do I get there and set up my drawer and sit down, does one of the guys from the crew comes up and tells me that Jeff has disapeared with 80,000 dollars of his guys money.
I said, JEFF DID WHAT. :monsters- He said Jeff disapeared with 80,000 dollars. I was like holy shit, I was just with him last night, we went to the game together. (I shouldn't have said that.)
Man this was circulating all over the strip like wildfire. In the weeks before this happened his guy had been warned that his runner was going off the deep end. He was seen by several runners of the different groups betting 100 dollar hands of blackjack, betting 200,300 and 500 dollar parlays and generally betting with his guys money like it was his own. ( This is a major no-no folks.) There was even a major argument between the two right downstairs in the Trop the Wednesday before he scramed, but he somehow convinced Steve that everything was okay and the count would be on target come Sunday.
So one thing leads to another and the next thing I know 2 things happen.
1. Word starts circulating that there is a contract out on the guy. A 5000 see and hold till his guy could get there and take care of him type of contract.
2. Two guys show up in my window with badges. One is a Metro detective, the other is with the FBI. I am like in my mind saying holy fucking shit I had to be the last one to be seen hanging with this guy.
They go in a very stern voice, Mr Martin there are some questions we would like to ask you. Please step out from the behind the counter and come with us. OH SHIT. So I step out and get escorted by them and some security guys to the hold room downstairs where they questioned me for a good 10 hours it seemed like, but it was really only 10 minutes.
They asked me the ususal I suppose. When is the last time you saw Jeff? About 9:30- 10 last night after the game. Did at anytime Jeff indicate to you what he was about to do? No. Did you have an idea he would? No. Where did he live? I dont know? Where do you think he lived? I dont know. If you did know, where would it be? I said my guess is that he was renting a room in a house somewhere in the neighborhood. Its common in the university district for people do so you know. Did you notice any strange activity coming from him? I said yeah he was betting with his mans bankroll. How did you know? Where else where he get that kind of money? Did you say anything to him about it? Yes. What? Are you okay Jeff? People are talking about you, you know. And he said what? I am not worried about it Juice. My count has been there at the end of every week so dont worry about it. Steves not. I said okay it on you, not me. Then they go, what was the argument on Wednesday about? I said, money. They go, how do you know? And I go, because I was sitting right there. I was sweating my entire ass folks, big time.
Once they were done questioning me they broke down and told me what they knew. First of all his name was not Jeff. It was Stan or something like that. Secondly he was wanted in a few different states for pulling similar type money scams, starting in his home state of Wisconsin where he had ripped his parents off for 100 grand. He had warrants out for him in like 3 or 4 states folks, for scams totalling almost 500,000 and his parents had not seen him in over 10 years at that point to boot.
He was living at the airport inn and when they broke into his room. They found a bunch of tourist guides to Mexico and the like. They were looking for his ass big time.
I could not believe what these cops were telling me. You should have seeen the look that had to be on my face. I was just shaking my head going, GTFO, you have got to be kidding me. I could not reconcile what they were saying against the person I thought I new. And I was to last person to see him/ be with him at that. GTFO.
Unbelievable.
Everybodys reaction was the same when they heard this stuff about him too.
It just goes to show you, when you think you know a guy, YOU REALLY DONT.
