Gambling Prosecutions

In Florida, running any type of operation that involves gambling is only legal if run by the state, and that includes bingo as referenced in The Bingo Racketeering Case. We have the Florida lottery – operated by the state – to soak-up your gambling dollars. The exceptions are the dog tracks, horse tracks, and jai-alai. Do not dare attempt to be entrepreneurial and open a non-conventional business in this state or you're likely to be prosecuted under the Florida racketeering statutes. Florida's racketeering laws are some of the worst in the nation, and that includes federal laws. Each count is a first degree felony punishable by up to 30 years in a Florida prison.

And you wonder why there's so much violent crime in this state? Get car-jacked on your Disney vacation or perhaps caught in the middle of an armed robbery? Well, I live here and I've been ordered to the floor in an armed robbery. It happens, mainly because there's too much attention and funding to non-crime easy and fun to investigate stuff. You never know when you might be caught in the next bingo hall raid or jacked-up by agents for placing a bet on a sports game. Or tv camera crews could flood the next joint with a computer that connects to a gambling website while agents raid the place. Never wonder why – we have inept idiots in the State Attorney's Office and the Metropolitan Bureau of Investigation is stuck in past investigations from the Lutz era of incompetence. The morals agenda has sunk this place.

These gambling related investigations all began when William Lutz was the director of the MBI. Thank God he retired in December of 2008; though he left us all a mess. At this moment in time I am referring to some racketeering prosecutions that are approaching trial. When will the people of this state take these morons' funding? We are closing schools and laying off half the fire department here for crying out-loud! I am referring to the State Attorney for the ninth circuit, Lawson Lamar, and the continuing morals agenda. I know that I don't give a crap if someone uses a computer in a business to place a bet or bets on the Superbowl in a pool hall. Do you?

The upcoming case that involves a Superbowl bet is scheduled for trial in April 2010. The defendants are Dung Nguyen (case # 2009-CF-001668-A-O) and Hau Thai (case # 2009-CF-001668-B-O). So far it looks like both are holding out for trial, and I truly hope they maintain that stand. The MBI investigated this case for 2 flipping years. Must be a fun job, right? Each defendant is charged with:

Racketeering
Conspiracy to Commit Racketeering (RICO)
Bookmaking – 35 counts
Unlawful use of a two-way communication device
Unlawful transportation of currency (Nguyen only)

These two young male defendants face life in prison.

The next case in the news was the Plinko store raid; another one of those 2 year MBI investigations. Agents confiscated 88 computers – probably sold them on eBay by now. The defendants in that case look like they will be in trial in June 2010. They are:

Jules Ross, case # 2009-CF-004445-A-O
Donald Fiechter, case # 2009-CF-004445-B-O
John Brady Jr., case # 2009-CF-004445-C-O
Jeffery Hendershot, case # 2009-CF-004445-D-O

Each of these defendants is charged with:

Racketeering (1st degree felony)
Keeping Gambling Houses, etc. (1st degree felony)
Engaging in unlawful financial transactions (2nd degree felony)
Unlawful poss./sale/operation of a coin operated device (2nd degree misdemeanor)
Conducting an Illegal Lottery (3rd degree felony)

They all face life imprisonment also. I find this entire prosecution absurd, and should these defendants go to trial, I hope that the jury of their peers agrees with me. The state attorney's office and the courts do not dare complain about any lack of funds in central Florida. Some judge agreed with this preposterous prosecution of entrepreneurial men attempting to earn a decent living.

Can you imagine what tv cameras paid attention to during these arrests? I will tell you – some people complaining that they lost money in these places. I lose money when I play the Florida lottery, but I do not see anyone charging the State of Florida with RICO. In this state when the lottery began many years ago there was a promise that a percentage of profits would go to education. The Racketeering Influenced Corrupt Organization of Florida stole that money.