Inquiry uncovers casino scheme !!!
Tonkawa Oklahoma !
This is the story of how an Oklahoma Indian tribe knowingly or unknowingly jumped into bed with the mob.
Its also the story of a conspiracy that almost wasnt uncovered and of one the federal regulatory bodys exhaustive efforts to unravel the scheme but kepp the tribes offending business open.
At a time when other tribes were closeing off-track betting parlors for lack of bussiness, the Tonkawa's Casino was booming.
In 2004 a staggering 60 million in wagers passed through the metal buildings 200 square foot room for horse betting, federal doucuments show.
The figure represented 68 percent of the casino's total gross revenue, far beyond the level that should have raised Red flags, several undustry sources say.
The Gambling money flowed so freely that one or more members of the "Uvari Group" showed up one day with 300k in a duffel bag to spend on races, according the Treasury Department. (whew) !!
The jackpot resulted from a meeting four years earlier between casino manager Edward Street, whose previuos job was in road consturction and two men one from New york and the other from Las Vegas.
Those two men whom Street described as "just average guys" that turned out to be connected to the Gambino crime family.
Although there have been other allegations of organized crime penetrateting the tribal casinos nationally, this was by far the largest incursion federal officals said!
After the FBI 's initial reluctance to investigate, the scheme eventually resulted in an 88 count indictment and 17 defendents in a New york Federal Court. They are accused in a 200 million dollar illegal gambling and money laundering ring. Allegations include extorsion and race fixing through horse dopeing. Most have already plead guilty or are scheduled to do so next week.
No Oklahoman's have been indicted at this time, but the financial consquences aare severe. The Tonkawa tribe has recently agreeded to pay a fine of 1 million, without admitted involvement. Street the casino manager was left jobless and faceing 1.5 million in fines.
In the fall of 2004, two HIGH stakes gamblers showed up at the Tonkawa Casino and placed bets on races simulcast inside the metal building on an Kay county backroad. ( I have seen this place, you would not believe how small it is, looks like a Big gargage)
Street the manager said he was recruited to reopen the casino in late 1999 while on a trip home from a road contruction job in New York.
Seperated from the tribal administive office only by a wall, the casino is part of the tribes small compound call Fort Oakland, a mile east of the town of Tonkawa. (Which is located in the northern part of Oklahoma)
According to Federal Indictiment issued last year. Anthony Uvari and David Applebaum had arrived to set up a major piece of a horse-race betting network. thier choice was made haphazardly.
The "Federal Bank Secrecy Act" requires casinos to file reports on gamblers who put 10k of more in action in "any" given 24 hour period.
Investigators say the men of thier operations had placed large horse-raceing bets through the Tonkawa Casino undetected. That success, investigators allege, promted the men to expand thier horizons beyond thier own bets.
It also precipitated the casinos role in what Fereral Agents labeled the "Uvari Group".
Tonkawa Casino joined and Idaho tribal casino and "OFF-SHORE" betting outposts in the Caribbean and in Costa Rica along with the Untied Kingdom as sites where the Uvari Group ran its alleged scheme, according to a 2005 indicitment.
The alleged operation inlvolved setting up beeting accounts under the rungleaders names and allowing gamblers to bet "annonymously" by useing the telephone or computers to contact those accounts. This created a betting volume so high that the betting parlors offered "commsissions" on EVERY wager.
Ringleaders passed on part of the commision to gamblers as an incentive to continue betting through them, the indictiments alleges.
The investigations began in the Portland Oregon field office of the National Indian Gameing Commision in 2001, and ALMOST stalled out there !!!
Tonkawa Oklahoma !
This is the story of how an Oklahoma Indian tribe knowingly or unknowingly jumped into bed with the mob.
Its also the story of a conspiracy that almost wasnt uncovered and of one the federal regulatory bodys exhaustive efforts to unravel the scheme but kepp the tribes offending business open.
At a time when other tribes were closeing off-track betting parlors for lack of bussiness, the Tonkawa's Casino was booming.
In 2004 a staggering 60 million in wagers passed through the metal buildings 200 square foot room for horse betting, federal doucuments show.
The figure represented 68 percent of the casino's total gross revenue, far beyond the level that should have raised Red flags, several undustry sources say.
The Gambling money flowed so freely that one or more members of the "Uvari Group" showed up one day with 300k in a duffel bag to spend on races, according the Treasury Department. (whew) !!
The jackpot resulted from a meeting four years earlier between casino manager Edward Street, whose previuos job was in road consturction and two men one from New york and the other from Las Vegas.
Those two men whom Street described as "just average guys" that turned out to be connected to the Gambino crime family.
Although there have been other allegations of organized crime penetrateting the tribal casinos nationally, this was by far the largest incursion federal officals said!
After the FBI 's initial reluctance to investigate, the scheme eventually resulted in an 88 count indictment and 17 defendents in a New york Federal Court. They are accused in a 200 million dollar illegal gambling and money laundering ring. Allegations include extorsion and race fixing through horse dopeing. Most have already plead guilty or are scheduled to do so next week.
No Oklahoman's have been indicted at this time, but the financial consquences aare severe. The Tonkawa tribe has recently agreeded to pay a fine of 1 million, without admitted involvement. Street the casino manager was left jobless and faceing 1.5 million in fines.
In the fall of 2004, two HIGH stakes gamblers showed up at the Tonkawa Casino and placed bets on races simulcast inside the metal building on an Kay county backroad. ( I have seen this place, you would not believe how small it is, looks like a Big gargage)
Street the manager said he was recruited to reopen the casino in late 1999 while on a trip home from a road contruction job in New York.
Seperated from the tribal administive office only by a wall, the casino is part of the tribes small compound call Fort Oakland, a mile east of the town of Tonkawa. (Which is located in the northern part of Oklahoma)
According to Federal Indictiment issued last year. Anthony Uvari and David Applebaum had arrived to set up a major piece of a horse-race betting network. thier choice was made haphazardly.
The "Federal Bank Secrecy Act" requires casinos to file reports on gamblers who put 10k of more in action in "any" given 24 hour period.
Investigators say the men of thier operations had placed large horse-raceing bets through the Tonkawa Casino undetected. That success, investigators allege, promted the men to expand thier horizons beyond thier own bets.
It also precipitated the casinos role in what Fereral Agents labeled the "Uvari Group".
Tonkawa Casino joined and Idaho tribal casino and "OFF-SHORE" betting outposts in the Caribbean and in Costa Rica along with the Untied Kingdom as sites where the Uvari Group ran its alleged scheme, according to a 2005 indicitment.
The alleged operation inlvolved setting up beeting accounts under the rungleaders names and allowing gamblers to bet "annonymously" by useing the telephone or computers to contact those accounts. This created a betting volume so high that the betting parlors offered "commsissions" on EVERY wager.
Ringleaders passed on part of the commision to gamblers as an incentive to continue betting through them, the indictiments alleges.
The investigations began in the Portland Oregon field office of the National Indian Gameing Commision in 2001, and ALMOST stalled out there !!!
