Two men get prison in A.C. gambling ring

MAYS LANDING, N.J. - It was one of the longest winning streaks in Atlantic City casino history.

For nearly 20 months, investigators say, Jack Buscemi Jr., 51, and Andrew Micali, 33, turned the high-stakes poker lounge of the Borgata Casino Hotel & Spa into their cash cow, walking away with an estimated $2 million in winnings.

Problem was, their game wasn't poker. It was bookmaking. Illegal sports betting.

Yesterday, the two cashed out.

Buscemi and Micali each were sentenced to a maximum of five years in prison by Atlantic County Superior Court Judge Michael Donio, who called their operation "highly organized" and extremely profitable.

Authorities say the bookmaking ring, which included wire rooms in Philadelphia and ties to computerized offshore betting establishments, generated about $60 million in wagers during a 20-month period that began in 2006.

Investigators with the New Jersey State Police also allege that Buscemi, Micali, and several of their associates engaged in loan-sharking and money-laundering. The operation produced about $2 million in profits for the two lead defendants, officials said.

Buscemi, Micali, and about 20 others were arrested in November 2007 after a two-year investigation by the state police, dubbed Operation High Roller.

Authorities say the ring had ties to organized crime, but Donio said yesterday that he did not find that in the evidence provided by the Attorney General's Office.

"This type of gambling activity is, in my view, simply a crime of greed," Donio said.

The judge said that leadership roles played by Buscemi and Micali warranted the maximum prison sentences he imposed.

One reputed mob figure, suspected hitman Anthony Nicodemo, 37, of South Philadelphia, was charged in the investigation. He is awaiting sentencing after pleading guilty to conspiracy.

While the judge may not have adopted the view of state investigators who said the operation was mob-linked, he did endorse their description of the gambling ring as highly organized, extremely lucrative, and audacious.

The case was built around wiretaps, video surveillance, and informant testimony.

Much of it focused on Micali, who allegedly ran the day-to-day operations in the poker lounge.

A former South Philadelphia resident who now lives in Ventnor, Micali literally set up shop there, authorities said.

He would sit at a poker table with stacks of money - chips and cash - in front of him and use a laptop to track games and betting lines.

Video-surveillance cameras, they said, followed him as he settled up with gamblers who had won or lost. Micali also maintained a safety deposit box in the casino where he kept cash, they said.

Neither Buscemi, of Mullica Hill, nor Micali was questioned about the operation yesterday. Both entered guilty pleas several months ago.

Buscemi, described by authorities as one of the biggest bookmakers in the Philadelphia area, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit money-laundering. He was charged with being the leader of the gambling operation.

Micali, who pleaded guilty to loan-sharking, was accused of managing the enterprise.

Buscemi also was ordered to pay slightly more than $50,000 in fines and forfeitures. The forfeitures included a 2002 Chrysler automobile seized during the investigation.

Micali was assessed $125,000 in fines and forfeitures.

Each was led away in handcuffs to begin serving his sentence in state prison.

Officials with the Borgata cooperated in the investigation, in which two former casino workers were also charged.

In comments before he was sentenced, Micali asked the judge for leniency for his codefendants, who he said were friends and, in some cases, like family to him.

He did not plead for leniency in his own case.

"My mom always said that if you do something wrong, you have to deal with the consequences," he said, his voice cracking. "Today I'm here to deal with the consequences."

Micali's mother and girlfriend were among those arrested when the case broke. Charges against them have been substantially downgraded.

Six minor defendants were sentenced to probation by Donio during a series of related hearings in his third-floor courtroom. All pleaded guilty to promoting gambling and were placed on three years' probation.

Those sentenced were Matthew Zambanini, 29, of Hockessin, Del., and William DePena, 40, John Findlay, 32, Dominic Grande, 29, and brothers Joseph Baldino Jr., 25, and Frank Baldino, 22, all of Philadelphia.

Frank Baldino was also sentenced to 150 hours of community service.

The others were sentenced to from 90 to 270 days in the Atlantic County Jail, but can work off the time by periodically reporting for a jail-run community work program as long as they maintain permanent employment.

The judge also imposed fines ranging from $3,000 to $6,000 on those defendants.

To date, 13 defendants in the case have been sentenced. Five others are awaiting sentencing.