RISK AND REWARD A look inside bookie business

Football attracts the most bets in the Mahoning Valley, according to the FBI.
By PATRICIA MEADE
VINDICATOR CRIME REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- When the FBI knocks, you can wager that sports bookmakers will try to flush away telltale evidence before they open the door.
"We've pulled it out of toilets," FBI Special Agent Joe Bushner said with a grin. "It doesn't flush."
That's because most local bookmakers generally keep bettors' records on regular sheets of paper, which isn't exactly water soluble. Truly savvy bookmakers, those willing to spend a little more, use either flash paper (favored by magicians) or rice paper (used by calligraphers and to line baking pans), Bushner said.
Put a flame to flash paper and it burns in its entirety, Bushner said. Rice paper, when tossed into a bucket of water, turns to slush -- a "mushy slop," he said.
He said betting records generally list initials or nicknames, such as CB or Slick 50 or Breadman, to disguise identities.
For sports bookmakers, football season kicks off with the Hall of Fame game on Aug. 9.
Bushner declined to be specific about the pending sports bookmaking case against 16 defendants linked to the LaVilla Sports Bar & amp; Grille in Struthers. Federal court papers allege the operation took in $2.5 million in bets in one month.
Without discussing LaVilla, the FBI agent did provide some insight into illegal sports gambling in the Mahoning Valley, which is widespread with "viable targets still out there."
Organized-crime ties?
When asked if the bookmakers have ties to organized crime, Bushner answered "yes and no." He said the majority of bookmakers are not mob-affiliated but declined to say if any money -- "tribute" -- is leaving town, going to organized-crime figures in other cities.
The FBI, he said, focuses on gambling networks that can have ties to organized crime, cops on the take and other public corruption.
"Some of the best cases the FBI ever made were predicated on gambling," Bushner said. "A gambling case can build into extortion, murder for hire, money laundering."
He gave a historical perspective, using former mob boss Lenny Strollo as an example. Strollo's case started out as a gambling investigation and ballooned into public corruption and murder.
"Strollo used his money to pay off judges and police," Bushner said. "A lot of it came from illegal gambling."
In the late 1990s, when Phil Chance was Mahoning County sheriff, Strollo wanted bookmakers to pay him a percentage of their operation and used John Chicase, then a sheriff's department captain, to try to bring them under one umbrella, Bushner said. Both Chicase and Chance received federal prison sentences.
The FBI used wiretaps to build its case against Strollo, as it did to build a case against the operator of LaVilla Sports Bar & amp; Grill and 15 others.
Wiretap worries
Bushner said the majority of bookmakers work from home and, once they get established, become concerned about wiretaps on their land-line phones. They switch to a cell phone, usually subscribed to by a friend.
In Strollo's case, cell phones leased to Chicase and used by his cousin were tapped. In the LaVilla case, land-line and cell phones were tapped.
Bettors speak in code when calling their bookie, Bushner said. A nickel is $500, a dime is $1,000 and 10 large is $10,000, for example.
Most bookmakers now have laptop computers to check the line on games, published by nearly every Las Vegas casino, Bushner said. They often use Don Best Sports at www.donbest.com, which provides betting odds information.
"It's a great tool -- it shows how bettors are betting," Bushner said. "The line helps bookmakers have a balance book at game time."
To balance their books when bets come in heavy for one team, bookies will place bets ("lay off") with other bookies. That way, they make money no matter who wins, Bushner said.
Collecting their fee
Bookmakers charge bettors a 10-percent fee on all losing bets. The fee is commonly called "vigorish" and provides the bookie with his source of income. To collect, bookmakers rely on trust and intimidation, the agent said. When someone doesn't pay, they can be told "don't call again" or they can be threatened where they work.
"It runs the gamut," Bushner said. "Collections can take place in parking lots, a bar, a convenient place. They try to be clandestine."
Settling up bets doesn't generally take place after every game. "It has to be worthwhile to meet," Bushner said.
Usually a figure is established, say $20,000 with big bettors, and no money changes hands until that amount is either lost or won, he said. The bettor can go all football season placing bets and not settle up until the agreed upon amount is reached.
Bushner said for this area, football attracts the most bets; the other sports don't even compare.
Since football games are Saturdays (college), Sundays (pros) and Monday nights (pros), Tuesdays are big settle-up days, Bushner said.
The price
So, who does sports betting hurt?
Bushner said it harms the community, and for those who think it's a victimless crime, they should ask the widow of Ernie Biondillo what she thinks. Biondillo, a Strollo rival, was the victim of a mob hit June 3, 1996.
The agent said betting in the Mahoning Valley has been part of the culture. Steel workers who made good money went to bars to bet, and although the mills are gone, the gambling remains along with the potential for corruption.
"Think back to Lenny Strollo and the cops taking bribes," Bushner said. "You can have an officer say, 'I'm just looking away from gambling,' but once bought and paid for, a cop is bought and paid for."
The agent said illegal gambling also means a loss of tax revenue.
"These aren't productive members of society," Bushner said of bookmakers.
meade@vindy.com