Sportsbetting website owner sentenced to 18 months in jail

News on 29 Jul 2015

Online sportsbook Beteagle owner Joseph Graziano (78) of Springfield, New Jersey, has been sentenced in a Newark federal court to 18 months in prison for illegal sports betting conspiracy, United States Attorney Paul J Fishman announced Tuesday.

The sentence follows a guilty plea before Judge Claire C Cecchi, who handed down the sentence.

According to court documents filed in this case and statements made in court Graziano was the principal owner of Beteagle.com, a website located in Costa Rica and used to facilitate illegal online sports betting, with links to a US organised crime family.

In addition to the prison term, Judge Cecchi ordered Graziano to serve three years of supervised release and pay a $16,000 fine. As part of his plea agreement, Graziano has forfeited $1 million to the United States.

One of his associates, Dominick J Barone, previously pleaded guilty to his role in the illegal operation and was sentenced to 18 months in prison on June 16, 2015.

A third defendant, “capo” Joseph Lascala (83) is still to be charged

The prosecutions resulted from a large enforcement operation that involved the FBI; the Bayonne Police Department, Special Investigations Unit; IRS-Criminal Investigation; the NJ. State Police, and the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office.

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