Laptop Implicates Pro Poker Player, Baseball Scout In Illegal Gambling Case
It contained all the evidence authorities needed to implicate gambling lords-a laptop computer that authorities say implicated professional poker player James Giordano.
It has been said that Giordano rarely let the laptop leave his line of vision. However, in what could be called a slip, Giordano unknowingly took a gamble by leaving it behind earlier this year to attend a relative's wedding.
New York Police Department investigators took advantage of the three hours that Giordano and his wife were out of their Long Island hotel room to make a digital copy of the hard drive.
The top-secret operation they conducted June 15 yielded evidence that a billion-dollar-a-year gambling operation is indeed being run. Police said at a news conference that 27 people have been charged, including Giordano.
Giordano was arrested by FBI agents early Wednesday, November 15 at his home in Pine Crest, Fla. Frank Falzarano, a former scout for the Washington Nationals was also arrested. Falzarano is allegedly the top earner in the gambling ring.
"This is the largest illegal gambling operation we have ever encountered," Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said. "It rivals casinos for the amount of betting."
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