It was several months ago, in April to be precise, that the FBI agents unearthed a massive illegal gambling syndicate that was purportedly linked to the Russian mob. Several people were in the net and 34 of them were indicted in the worst ever scandal. Poker pro Justin “Boosted” J Smith and Edwin Ting also figured in the list. It has taken five months of intense interrogation and coaxing and possibly plea bargains that led to Smith and Ting pleading guilty.
According to news reports from New York Daily News, Smith is likely to plead guilty of having received illegal payment for online gambling. Ting, on the other hand, is expected to accept charges of having run an illegal gambling racket. Both are likely to face stiff sentences, though their attorneys are working on reducing the sentence to six or 10-month jail terms. The $100-million gambling scheme run by the 42-year-old Ting was the largest racket ever with the Russian Mafia pulling strings from behind the scenes.
Edwin Ting and the underground poker club
Edward Ting operated out of his gambling den in Manhattan that once hosted A-Rod, or Alex Rodriguez, another criminal mastermind into illegal poker gambling. The authorities were after Ting for several years when they finally caught up, unearthed and busted this mammoth gambling racket. Ting ran what was considered the most high-profile poker game, though illegal, in New York City for several years without being detected.
Ting originally faced a stiffer sentence that would have run to nothing less than 30 years. However, his attorneys, represented by Eric P Franz and Andrew Leopoldo Mancilla of the Law Firm Eric Franz PLLC, helped him get away with a lighter sentence. Ting’s lawyers, however, are incommunicado, and are not available for comment. Interestingly, there is no specific law that can prosecute players indulging in illegal poker, unless they are directly connected to the illegal operation. Players are continuing to merrily gamble, irrespective of news of the bust.
The Federal authorities had to use the IGBA or the Illegal Gambling Business Act to round up the offenders, and more illegal poker operators are expected to be picked up for questioning in the next few months. Ting, having pleaded guilty, is likely to be considered for a sentence of probation, though there are money laundering charges that have been framed as well.
The operation
The illegal operation that was going on undetected for several years at a Manhattan club had Ting as merely a cog in an operation of a much larger magnitude, comprising of not just illegal gambling, but money laundering and extortion rackets as well. This is a nationwide organization called Taiwanchik-Trincher Organization, that had strong links with the Ukrainian and Russian mafia, which had been indicted in March on several counts, in addition to being charged under IGBA.
Ting is believed to have agreed to pay back $2 million from the profits he had raked in from illegal games that featured pots exceeding $10,000. This is what probably saved Ting’s skin and helped him scrape through with a much lighter sentence, compared to the five year stint he was set to have been awarded. It was not very long ago that a Brooklyn federal trial judge had set aside a verdict by a jury against Lawrence DiCristina of Staten Island, who was accused of making large sums of money through illegal gambling rackets, in another unrelated case. The contention then was that poker is a game of skill, playing which cannot be considered gambling.
The fight for online poker
This is probably what goaded poker enthusiasts to raise cudgels against the authorities and prevail upon them to legalize online poker. Patrick W Fleming, the force behind the movement, serving as the litigation support director for the Poker Playing Alliance, is keen on advancing the theory that poker is a game of skill. He pleaded the DiCristina case on these grounds. However, when compared to the DiCristina operation, Ting’s was far more complex and sophisticated, with illegal angles going beyond poker to more serious crimes like extortion and money laundering.
With Nevada legalizing online gambling and New Jersey and Delaware having approved online gambling in the past two years, there is a general clamor for legalizing online poker all over the country. According to reports from the National Conference of State Legislatures, several states including Texas, Pennsylvania, California, Hawaii, Illinois, Massachusetts and a few others are already working around the clock to legalize online gambling within the end of this year. However, no changes are expected at the Federal level in spite of the Republican congressman from New York, June Peter King introducing a bill to legalize online gambling.
To sum up in general, the prevailing mood with almost all poker enthusiasts is for legalizing online gambling, though several old schools still believe in sitting at traditional table for a relaxed game of poker. However, to keep illegal operators at bay, and bring in a semblance of order and make gambling organized, legalizing seems to be the only answer.
In addition to saving a lot of tax-payer’s money and legal fees that would otherwise have to be paid, the act will keep organized crime out and stop vice rings from operating with impunity. With several legal loopholes available to unscrupulous lawyers, it is difficult to nail the kingpins, who always operate behind the scenes.