FBI Press Release – Frank Politicchio was sentenced by United States District Court to four months in prison and three years of supervised release, for his involvement in an illegal sports bookmaking operation based in Costa Rica, according to the FBI website.
U.S. District Judge Vanessa L. Bryant in Hartford, Connecticut, also ordered Potolicchio, a Norwalk resident, to forfeit US$100.000.
According to court documents and statements made in court, after a long-term investigation led by the FBI Fairfield County Organized Crime Task Force, the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation, and the Stamford Police Department, Potolicchio and 19 other individuals were charged with various offenses related to their involvement in an illegal Internet sports bookmaking operation and illegal card gambling clubs in Stamford and Hamden that were controlled by the Gambino Crime Family of La Cosa Nostra.
The investigation, which included the use of court-authorized wiretaps, revealed that Potolicchio was involved in a large-scale sports bookmaking operation in which gamblers placed bets with offshore Internet sports-gambling websites, particularly www.44wager.com, based in Costa Rica.
FBI analysis of the sports-betting website utilized by the co-defendants has determined that the total gross revenues of the Stamford-based gambling operation were nearly US$1.7 million from October 2010 to June 2011.
On February 13, 2013, Potolicchio pleaded guilty to one count of operating an illegal gambling business.
