Betonsports's Kaplan arrested in Dominican Republic
|
| Published on Saturday, March 31, 2007 |
Email To Friend Print Version |
By Thom Weidlich
NEW YORK, USA (Bloomberg): Betonsports Plc founder and fugitive Gary Kaplan, indicted along with his company last June for racketeering and conspiracy related to illegal Internet gambling, has been arrested in the Dominican Republic.
Kaplan, 48, was caught March 28 at a hotel in Santo Domingo following a "worldwide search," St Louis US Attorney Catherine Hanaway said Friday in a statement. Betonsports, a London-based Internet sports book, and Kaplan were charged with 10 others for violating US laws against Internet betting.
Prosecutors are seeking the forfeiture of $4.5 billion.
"Mr Kaplan will enter a plea of not guilty and vigorously defend against these charges," said Kaplan's lawyer, Benjamin Brafman, adding he's been told "it will take several weeks" before Kaplan is transferred to St Louis. He declined to comment on why his client didn't surrender earlier.
Kaplan, charged with 20 felony counts, was sent to Puerto Rico to appear before a magistrate judge, who will be asked to order him transferred to Missouri. If convicted on all counts, Kaplan could spend the rest of his life in prison. Earlier Friday, the World Trade Organization declared the US ban on offshore Internet gambling payments illegal, upholding a previous ruling that allows for possible sanctions.
Shares of online gambling sites including PartyGaming Plc rose after the WTO said the US ignored its previous decision that challenged the US law barring payments to gaming websites while allowing bets on its own soil.
Eight of the defendants, including former Betonsports Chief Executive Officer David Carruthers, cited the WTO position in a December 18 motion seeking dismissal of the racketeering and interstate wire-gambling charges. The judge hasn't ruled on the request.
The defendants argued the prosecution violates the US government's obligations under the 1995 treaty establishing the WTO. The defendants also dispute prosecutors' claims they are guilty of racketeering.
Betonsports' lawyer Jeffrey Demerath of Armstrong Teasdale in St. Louis didn't return a call seeking comment on Kaplan's capture. Jan Diltz, a spokeswoman for Hanaway, declined to comment. Nedy Carrillo, a spokeswoman for the Puerto Rico US attorney's office, declined to immediately comment.
Kaplan and his co-defendants are accused of engaging in racketeering, conspiracy and fraud arising out of the operation of gambling businesses such as Betonsports, prosecutors said.
"Gary Kaplan and Norman Steinberg, as the owners and operators of Betonsports affiliated Web sites and sportsbooks, took, or caused their employees to take, bets from undercover federal agents in St Louis, who used undercover identities to open wagering accounts," Hanaway said.
Steinberg is still at large, as is codefendant Peter Wilson, Hanaway said. Carruthers was apprehended in Texas in July. He and six other defendants appeared in federal court on July 31 and entered not guilty pleas. A not guilty plea was entered by the court on the company's behalf in January.
US District Judge Carol Jackson in St Louis last month found Betonsports in contempt for violating an order to appear in her courtroom.
Betonsports suspended trading of its shares on the London stock exchange last July, one day after the US indictment was unsealed. The company was de-listed in January. | | | | Reads : 266 | | | |
|
|
