28 arrested in N.Y. gambling sting

Feb 4, 2011, 9:57 am (8 comments)

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HAVERSTRAW, N.Y. — Officers from the Rockland County Intelligence Center and the town rounded up 28 people Thursday night in a crackdown on an illegal lottery ring.

The joint raids were the result of a five-month joint investigation, authorities said.

Rockland County Sheriff's Department Capt. William Barbera, captain of the Intelligence Center, said about 11:30 p.m. that police had processed the suspects at the West Haverstraw Community Center, 130 Samsondale Ave., where officers had set up portable processing machines.

Police executed several search warrants across the village and seized thousands of dollars during their raid of the lottery, known to police as the "Dominican Lottery."

A specific dollar amount had not been determined Thursday night.

Many of the suspects were being charged with possession of gambling records, Barbera said. Others were likely to be held on immigration detainers. Barbera said it was likely several of the suspects would face additional charges as well.

In February 2010, officials concluded a two-year criminal probe into a similar $10 million to $12 million lottery in Spring Valley.

The ring was making money on what was called the Dominican lottery, police said.

At the time, Rockland County District Attorney Thomas Zugibe said that the investigation, named Operation Dinero De Diablo, garnered about $1 million in cash, cars and real estate to be distributed to various law enforcement agencies.

Nine were arrested during that operation, which reached across parts of Rockland and into New Jersey.

Eight high-end vehicles were seized during that operation along with $370,302, which was taken from safes in about 50 stacks of rubber-banded $100, $50 and $20 bills.

That ring operated three lottery rooms in Spring Valley and one in Hillcrest. Two others were found in Elizabeth, N.J., and East Orange, N.J.

Authorities said at the time that the crew operating in Rockland had connections to other gangs that smuggled people into the United States from Dominican Republic. Those smuggled into the country worked in the lottery rooms to repay a $15,000 smuggler's fee.

Barbera said a news conference to further discuss the breadth of Thursday's raid is scheduled for noon today at Haverstraw Town Hall.

Journal News

Comments

megamanX's avatarmegamanX

wait the Dominican lottery was bogus? good thing I already sent my savings to Nigeria to help out a local prince. I expect to be rewarded any day now.

sully16's avatarsully16

Quote: Originally posted by megamanX on Feb 4, 2011

wait the Dominican lottery was bogus? good thing I already sent my savings to Nigeria to help out a local prince. I expect to be rewarded any day now.

hehehehe, and the lawyers will feast.

Littleoldlady's avatarLittleoldlady

Green laugh

The crooks who are running the legal lotteries don't want any competition!

pamelab

I Agree!

luisM

I Agree!

butterflykt's avatarbutterflykt

Wish I could have been a fly on the wall!

HaveABall's avatarHaveABall

Reads, "Those smuggled into the country worked in the lottery rooms to repay a $15,000 smuggler's fee."

Hum, I wonder how many hours per week each illegal alien person was required to work and for how many months and did each join the gang for life?

Hat

ME2U$

Lol so true.

End of comments
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