Two plead guilty in Internet gambling case

Reuters ^ | March 17, 2006 | Reuters

[balch3]

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A Miami executive and his wife pleaded guilty to participating in a $3.3 billion (1.7 billion pound) illegal Internet sports gambling operation in New York on Friday, the Queens District Attorney's office said.

Daniel Clarin, 32, and his wife Melissa Clarin, 31, pleaded guilty in court to enterprise corruption and conspiracy charges for taking part in the operation that ran over a 28-month period, according to a news release.

Sentencing was set for April 26.

The operation took bets on sports including horse-racing, football, baseball, basketball, hockey, NASCAR races, PGA golf and professional tennis, the release said.

The couple were among 27 people indicted in November in Queens County Supreme Court for participating.

The case represents the first time Internet gambling charges were brought in the United States since President George W. Bush signed the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act into law in October.

The law effectively banned online gambling by outlawing gaming financial transactions.

[balch3]

excellent work to control this vice. Let's hope this is just the start of making our society more decent.

[conservative in nyc]

The Queens County D.A. doesn't bring federal charges. I'd be willing to bet that this prosecution has absolutely nothing to do with the new federal law passed last year.

[There You Go Again]

Yea, great work controlling voluntary behavior....and making Harry Reid and his Vegas crowd rich while we go after these "villains"....what garbage......

[Yossarian]

excellent work to control this vice. Let's hope this is just the start of making our society more decent.

YES! YEEESSSS!!!! PRAISE BE that SOMEONE in our all-powerful government finally wrestles away FREEDOM and FREE WILL from those dirty, dirty plebs!

I mean, how DARE they be allowed to spend their money on evil EVIL internet gambling?!? They shall be damned and cursed for not gambling on the State Lottery, multi-state Lottery, horse track, dog track, stock market, real estate, and all the other BLESSED variants of vice!

Yes, THIS is EXACTLY what the founding fathers intended the United States to be - FREE from the wicked, wicked, WICKEDNESS OF FREE CHOICE!!!

Praise be!!!

[Yossarian]

excellent work to control this vice. Let's hope this is just the start of making our society more decent.

YES! YEEESSSS!!!! PRAISE BE that SOMEONE in our all-powerful government finally wrestles away FREEDOM and FREE WILL from those dirty, dirty plebs!

I mean, how DARE they be allowed to spend their money on evil EVIL internet gambling?!? They shall be damned and cursed for not gambling on the State Lottery, multi-state Lottery, horse track, dog track, stock market, real estate, and all the other BLESSED variants of vice!

Yes, THIS is EXACTLY what the founding fathers intended the United States to be - FREE from the wicked, wicked, WICKEDNESS OF FREE CHOICE!!!

Praise be!!!

[HAL9000]

excellent work to control this vice. Let's hope this is just the start of making our society more decent.

That's ridiculous. I don't endorse, condone or participate in gambling - but we don't need to waste taxpayer's money on controlling this sort of vice. It won't make society more "decent". If you have a gambling problem, that's your personal problem. The government shouldn't be relied on to stop you - especially when so many state goverments are in the lottery business themselves. It looks like a racket for the government to control the gambling business itself by prosecuting their competitors.

[GATOR NAVY]

That's ridiculous. I don't endorse, condone or participate in gambling - but we don't need to waste taxpayer's money on controlling this sort of vice. It won't make society more "decent".

Well said.

[FastCoyote]

28 months operating and I bet the only one who squawked were the investigators. Now there's a crime no one cares about but the do gooders.

[callofduty]

"excellent work to control this vice. Let's hope this is just the start of making our society more decent."

I can think of a few more vices our government needs to control. Just the other night I spent TWELVE hours playing an online video game. We need to pass laws outlawing online games past 10 PM. That's not to mention I was drinking. DRINKING! Somebody stop me... or better yet, ban the booze again! And... oh no! I just finished off a WHOLE BOX of Oreos! SOMEBODY is going to PAY if I have a heart attack one day. Now excuse me while I go take a ride in my muscle car. They really should make a law that tops engines out at 65 MPH!