Chicago gambling article

[Wiseguy]

Will local bookies survive when legal sports betting comes to Illinois? The odds look good.
By JOHN KEILMAN
June 18, 2019


The man on the phone said he doesn’t take as many bets as he used to — badgering deadbeats to pay up gets old after a while — but he’s still in the business, accepting small wagers on football games for a handful of trusted customers.

It’s a side gig, not his main way of making a living, but you might nonetheless think he’s an endangered species with legalized sports betting coming to Illinois as soon as this fall. Why put $100 on the Bears through a bookmaker when you can do it at a casino or through a sanctioned smartphone app?

The man, though, said he’s confident bookies like him aren’t going anywhere.

“We offer credit,” said the man, whom the Tribune found the old-fashioned way — a reporter knew someone who knew someone — but who would not give his name because of the legal status of bookmaking. “We’ll always have people who want to use us because they don’t want to worry about funding their bets upfront.”

For decades, bookies and Chicago went together like pinstripes and fedoras. Sports betting was illegal outside of Nevada, so anyone itching for some action had to find a guy willing to take a bet. And there were plenty of guys.

Gary Shapiro, who prosecuted mobsters for the U.S. attorney’s office in Chicago before retiring in 2014, said the business was deeply rooted in organized crime, forming the very base of the Outfit’s operations.

“Without gambling, they would have had enormous problems recruiting people to work for them,” he said. “That’s how they paid people, and how they got people trained in the business.”

He recalled seeing bookies at the pay phones of O’Hare International Airport, their pockets bulging with quarters as they made endless calls. Others operated in so-called wire rooms, where they’d take messages from bettors and monitor the results of games and horse races.

It was a tough racket. The mob demanded street taxes from bookies, and those who didn’t pay could wind up dead. Throughout the 20th century, the Chicago Tribune chronicled dozens of murders allegedly tied to gambling (“Slain on street despite rabbit’s foot he carries,” read one headline from 1936).

Bettors who couldn’t make good on their losses also had reason to worry, but Shapiro said the Outfit generally preferred to charge high interest on debts or cut off gamblers who didn’t pay.

“Most win some and lose more,” he said. “You’re always going to make money off them. Breaking their legs is not the best way to keep your clients. But there was always the fear. That’s a pretty good motivator.”

After decades of consistency, the business changed radically in the 2000s. Offshore websites — some operated by crime syndicates, others by entrepreneurs — allowed sports bettors to gamble without leaving home, a change that took bookmaking out of the taverns and pool rooms.

Law enforcement priorities shifted, too, with the feds concentrating on terrorism and local police cracking down on violent crime. The U.S. attorney’s office in Chicago said it hasn’t had a bookmaking case in at least 14 years, while Chicago police, which once recorded 10 to 15 arrests a year related to sports betting, haven’t made any since 2012.

Police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said the gambling that police worry about is open-air dice games that can lead to stickups or shootings. Wagering on sports, which is generally done over phone lines or in cyberspace, is a lesser concern.

“A lot of the traditional organized crime things are now finding their ways into the dark corners of the Internet,” he said. “They’re not doing them on street corners anymore.”

The last bookmaking arrest the Tribune found came when the evidence almost literally fell into law enforcement’s lap.

In March 2014, a woman found a black leather fanny pack containing nearly $30,000 in the parking lot of a grocery store and turned it into Buffalo Grove police. When an officer looked through it, he found a handwritten ledger detailing sports bets.

A 76-year-old man came to the station to claim the fanny pack, according to a police report, saying he had taken the money out of a safety deposit box to pay for his grandchildren’s school. Confronted with the evidence, he confessed he was a $600-a-week courier for a small-time bookie.

“(The man) refused to give the name of the bookie,” the report says. “(He) said that his group does not threaten (gamblers) for money owed. They simply are not allowed to bet anymore should they not pay.”

The man was charged with possession of betting books, a misdemeanor. He pleaded guilty and received a year of probation, according to court records. He could not be reached for comment.

Carmen DeFalco, co-host of the “Odds Couple” and “Carmen and Jurko” radio shows on ESPN 1000, said bookmaking has become an almost entirely digital enterprise. The person with whom he bets — the friend of a friend — has an invitation-only website through which transactions are made, he said.

It’s easy and convenient, he said, and he likely won’t switch when Illinois offers authorized alternatives.

“If I’m on vacation and want to make a wager, do I have to be within the boundaries of Illinois?” he said. “Why would I want to deal with that? I plan to keep using the guy I’ve used.”

Illegal bookmakers haven’t disappeared from states that already allow sports betting. Nevada still makes regular busts — one ring, broken up five years ago, actually set up shop on the grounds of a Las Vegas casino to process bets on World Cup soccer matches — and considers bookies so vexing that it recently passed a law allowing police to wiretap their communications.

The Nevada Gaming Control Board said in a statement that bookies persist because their low overhead — they don’t pay taxes or have regulatory expenses — means they can offer more attractive odds than legitimate sports books. They can also give rebates or credit, and accept bets from people who want to keep their gambling hidden from government scrutiny.

“(Without) reporting requirements, suspicious betting cannot be monitored, analyzed and, if warranted, investigated by authorities for money laundering or sports bribery violations,” the board said.

Rep. Mike Zalewski, D-Riverside, who helped guide Illinois’ gambling legislation through the General Assembly, said legal sports betting’s possible effect on local bookmakers didn’t figure into lawmakers’ deliberations. Offshore gambling websites were a much larger concern, he said.

“The conversation around the black market was always way more about (how) to make sure people are playing safely and transparently on devices that are based in the U.S., and with a vetted, regulated casino,” he said.

That suits the bookie with whom the Tribune spoke just fine. He predicted that legitimate sports books’ expenses, including licensing fees of up to $20 million and a 15 percent tax rate, will prompt them to charge “inflated juice” — high fees tucked into betting lines.

Experienced, value-conscious sports betters will therefore stick with the people they know, he said, while newcomers might also come to see the merit of gambling with a bookie.

“At the end of the day it’s good for everybody,” he said. “It’s good for guys like me and it’s good for the state.”

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.chicag ... utType=amp

[CabriniGreen]

Good Post Wiseguy...

I almost posted it myself... It shows how gambling arrest dont rate in Chicago like on the East coast..... It doesnt grab headlines in Chicago... no one cares about gambling arrest..

It's why I also wanted guys to look into the Sweepstakes machines. No one I've ever heard of got busted for these things....

[Frank]

Nice article Wiseguy.Interesting that Chicago LE really doesn't look for gambling busts. Probably explains alot of the silence of news and indictments of the Outfit.

[Wiseguy]

Nice article Wiseguy.Interesting that Chicago LE really doesn't look for gambling busts. Probably explains alot of the silence of news and indictments of the Outfit.

Mmm...that explanation only goes so far and can't be used for a blanket excuse for the relative lack of gambling indictments. Terrorism is a concern everywhere (including in other cities where there's been more consistent mob gambling cases). And, for all the news of violent crime in Chicago in recent years, the number of murders over the past 20 years is actually down compared to previous decades.

[CabriniGreen]

I think the article said the last ARREST for gambling was like, 2012.....

[Frank]

I think the article said the last ARREST for gambling was like, 2012.....

Yes, They didn't state if it was Outfit related. The older guy that lost his duffle bag, which had all the evidence to convict him. It all fell into LE lap.

[Frank]

Is Nick Ferriola the last Outfit associate to be convicted on gambling charges? If so that would be around 12 years ago.

[Moscone65]

@wiseguy cops are known to be bribed when it comes to gambling and they don’t give a shit unless the money stops. Look at Toronto for example. There’s tons of little members only cafes with slots and other gambling going on in the back in the weird industrial/commercial parks tucked away in the back ends of Woodbridge. The cops know they are there, like cafe corretto that got blown up. They get paid off and they leave them alone for the most part. These cafes are always changing owners and opening/closing but if the cops wanted to make the cases, they would. Why can’t there be a similar case in Chicago?

[Confederate]

@wiseguy cops are known to be bribed when it comes to gambling and they don’t give a shit unless the money stops. They get paid off and they leave them alone for the most part.

What you said is very true except that these big gambling busts that take place by LE are usually always done by the Feds, not local Police who don't care unless violence is involved. That's what it said in the Article which makes perfect sense.

[Moscone65]

@wiseguy cops are known to be bribed when it comes to gambling and they don’t give a shit unless the money stops. They get paid off and they leave them alone for the most part.

What you said is very true except that these big gambling busts that take place by LE are usually always done by the Feds, not local Police who don't care unless violence is involved. That's what it said in the Article which makes perfect sense.

True, the law enforcement in Canada is quite different from the states as well in terms of how it works and who’s in charge of what.

[Wiseguy]

@wiseguy cops are known to be bribed when it comes to gambling and they don’t give a shit unless the money stops. Look at Toronto for example. There’s tons of little members only cafes with slots and other gambling going on in the back in the weird industrial/commercial parks tucked away in the back ends of Woodbridge. The cops know they are there, like cafe corretto that got blown up. They get paid off and they leave them alone for the most part. These cafes are always changing owners and opening/closing but if the cops wanted to make the cases, they would. Why can’t there be a similar case in Chicago?

There was a time, even back in the 1990s, when those payoffs were bring made but we haven't seen any signs of that in Chicago in years.

And it's not not there hasn't been gambling cases. There were a few mob-connected bookmaking busts on the early 2000s, one as part of the Family Secrets case in 2005, and one in 2010. There were also video poker busts in 2000, as part of the Family Secrets case in 2005, and three in 2009 (the year that video gambling was legalized in Illinois). For the record, there were also a couple cases in Rockford in 2002 and 2006.

The point is, we don't see the kind of gambling cases (in number of busts or size of operations) that one might expect in Chicago. The explanation of other law enforcement priorities only goes so far. Rather than the Outfit still having police on the payroll, it's more likely a sign of the organization shrinking in size and scope.

Even allowing for some hyperbole, in 2005, Harry Aleman gave an interview where he said, "The reporters and newspapers have to keep it alive, but there ain't nothing in Chicago, no street tax, no extortion, no nothing. There might be some old guys languishing around, but it's moot. The younger generation doesn't want no part of the mob; it's over. There's no dice games, no card games, no bookmaking, if there's any bookmaking, it's just with the Jewish people on the North Side," he says, adding that even if that's happening, there's no street tax on the money changing hands. "There's nobody who wants to do the job; this isn't the '30s or '40s," he recalls. "Is there a mob running over, putting people in trunks? No, nobody wants to be part of it because of the feds. Whoever they locked up recently, they locked them up for their past performance, because they haven't been doing anything for the past 10 or 15 years."

[Frank]

@wiseguy cops are known to be bribed when it comes to gambling and they don’t give a shit unless the money stops. Look at Toronto for example. There’s tons of little members only cafes with slots and other gambling going on in the back in the weird industrial/commercial parks tucked away in the back ends of Woodbridge. The cops know they are there, like cafe corretto that got blown up. They get paid off and they leave them alone for the most part. These cafes are always changing owners and opening/closing but if the cops wanted to make the cases, they would. Why can’t there be a similar case in Chicago?

There was a time, even back in the 1990s, when those payoffs were bring made but we haven't seen any signs of that in Chicago in years.

And it's not not there hasn't been gambling cases. There were a few mob-connected bookmaking busts on the early 2000s, one as part of the Family Secrets case in 2005, and one in 2010. There were also video poker busts in 2000, as part of the Family Secrets case in 2005, and three in 2009 (the year that video gambling was legalized in Illinois). For the record, there were also a couple cases in Rockford in 2002 and 2006.

The point is, we don't see the kind of gambling cases (in number of busts or size of operations) that one might expect in Chicago. The explanation of other law enforcement priorities only goes so far. Rather than the Outfit still having police on the payroll, it's more likely a sign of the organization shrinking in size and scope.

Even allowing for some hyperbole, in 2005, Harry Aleman gave an interview where he said, "The reporters and newspapers have to keep it alive, but there ain't nothing in Chicago, no street tax, no extortion, no nothing. There might be some old guys languishing around, but it's moot. The younger generation doesn't want no part of the mob; it's over. There's no dice games, no card games, no bookmaking, if there's any bookmaking, it's just with the Jewish people on the North Side," he says, adding that even if that's happening, there's no street tax on the money changing hands. "There's nobody who wants to do the job; this isn't the '30s or '40s," he recalls. "Is there a mob running over, putting people in trunks? No, nobody wants to be part of it because of the feds. Whoever they locked up recently, they locked them up for their past performance, because they haven't been doing anything for the past 10 or 15 years."

Interesting interview of Aleman. Maybe a little exaggerating at the time, but not far from the truth. Fast forward to now and it definitely is true. But I'm sure whatever was going on in that time period Aleman is talking about was nothing compared to what was.

[Snakes]

Probably more true now than it was when he gave the interview but the point still stands.