68 Arrested in Raids on Big N.Y. Gambling Ring
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MINEOLA, N. Y. — Police officers Thursday arrested 63 men and five women on Long Island and in Manhattan, smashing a $300-million-a-year sports gambling ring allegedly run by the Gambino crime family, Nassau County officials said.
In coordinated predawn raids, 150 detectives arrested the 68 suspects on warrants and seized $100,000 in cash. Extensive betting records involving all major professional sports also were seized.
The average bet placed through the ring amounted to $3,000, officials said, and Nassau County Dist. Atty. Dennis Dillon estimated that the operation did $300 million a year in business.
The wagering ring was run primarily by telephone from a warehouse-size building in Elmont, Dillon said. A second operations center was found in an apartment in Manhattan’s East Village.
Among those arrested was John (Handsome Jack) Giordano, 48, whom officials identified as a captain in the Gambino crime family, reputedly headed by John Gotti. Giordano allegedly ran the ring’s Manhattan operations.
District Judge Arthur Eiberson released most of the suspects without bail.
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