Home / Poker News April 2013 / Gambling Ring Linked to Organized Crime Busted
Gambling Ring Linked to Organized Crime Busted
Posted by: Jo Martin - Thu, 2013-04-18 02:47
The links between gambling and organized crime are in a sense quite traditional, so it doesn’t really surprise anyone when every now and then Federal investigators bust a gambling ring which generates or launders money for the Russian mob for instance. A couple of days ago however, the FBI’s Eurasian Organized Crime Squad made a move that directly concerned the poker world, considering the fact that several of the people involved in the case were in fact rather well-known poker professionals.
The judge behind the bust was Preet Bharara of the Southern District of New York, he of Black Friday fame, who indicted no fewer than 34 people this time around, uncovering an intricate network of high stakes poker dens and sports betting operations with offshore links.
Although the list of those indicted is pretty impressive indeed, what poker players and poker industry members are probably most interested in are the names of Abe Mosseri, Bill Edler and Peter Feldman though.
The prosecutors have apparently uncovered an organized crime ring dubbed the “Taiwanchik-Trincher Organization” allegedly led by Alimzhan Tokhtakhounov, who has attempted to bribe the 2002 Winter Olympics officials. According to the indictment, the leaders of the crime ring were based in New York, Kyiv and Moscow and they operated throughout the US.
Besides the “top dogs”, there were other interesting names listed in the indictment as well. Molly Bloom was there yet again. The organizer of high stakes celebrity poker games has managed to get people like Tobey Maguire, Alex Rodriguez and Leonardo DiCaprio involved in the games.
John Hanson may not be well known throughout the
poker community, but the New York based options trader made two final tables in the prestigious $50k Poker Players Championship of the
WSOP, finishing second in 2009.
