[Mr. AtlanticCity]

Today's article from the Press of Atlantic City:

Atlantic City bet-ring arrests won't be the last, official says
By MICHAEL CLARK Staff Writer, 609-272-7204
Published: Friday, November 16, 2007
More people face arrests in the ongoing investigation of a $22 million illegal sports-gambling ring operated in a poker room at the Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa, a local law-enforcement official said Thursday.
Local female police officers were sent to Ventnor on Wednesday to assist State Police with searching female suspects involved in the illegal operation, and there are "still some pending arrests," the official said.

No female suspects were listed among the 23 people charged Wednesday when State Police broke up the illegal sports book, allegedly led by four men with ties to the Philadelphia mob and including six casino employees.

Peter Aseltine, spokesman for Attorney General Anne Milgram, would not comment on any pending arrests. But State Police Lt. Col. Thomas Gilbert said during a news conference that Wednesday's arrests were "more the start of this investigation than the end of it."

All five men arrested in the sting posted bail and were released by Thursday night, authorities said. Andrew Micali, the alleged leader of the operation, was released on $100,000 bail. The four others arrested - Vincent Procopio, Anthony Nicodemo, Michael Lancellotti and Joseph Wishnick - were all released on $50,000 bail. Eighteen others were issued summonses.



Aseltine said the suspects' first appearance in court has not yet been scheduled.
A complex operation that lasted at least 20 months and brought in more than $22 million, the illegal sports book Micali ran had several different employees contributing to its success, including poker room supervisors, dealers and even a Borgata bartender, Milgram said. Authorities have remained vague on the specific details of how the operation worked, but the past poker experience of Micali and Procopio may have aided it.

Both men participated in major poker tournaments like the World Poker Tour and the World Series of Poker in the past year.

Micali was one of hundreds of players in the 38th annual World Series of Poker held at the Rio Casino and Hotel in Las Vegas in July, according to the tournament's Web site. He and Procopio also have both been listed as players at several different casinos while participating in the World Poker Tour. The Borgata was one of the many casinos that hosted the tour in January, casino officials said.

Procopio has been listed as a player in several other poker tournaments in published reports and on the Internet, including placing eighth at the Los Angeles Poker Classic at the Commerce Casino in March, collecting $151,870 in winnings.

Jack M. Buscemi Jr., 50, of Mullica Hill, also is listed on several poker Web sites and tournament listings and won $2,025 at the Borgata Poker Open in 2005. Buscemi has been described by authorities as Micali's "partner" and allegedly received a percentage of the gambling proceeds collected by Micali's network of agents.

While some law-enforcement officials have alleged that Micali and Procopio have ties to the Philadelphia mob, Lancellotti and Nicodemo have a more detailed public history with organized crime.

According to published reports, Lancellotti, better known as "Mikey Lance," was identified as a suspect in two mob murders during the 2001 trial of Philadelphia-southern New Jersey mob boss Joseph "Skinny Joey" Merlino, who is currently serving a federal prison term. Lancellotti has denied the allegations and has never been charged.

Nicodemo has been described as a former bodyguard for Merlino. According to news reports, the 36-year-old began a feud between Philadelphia mobsters and the Pagans, an outlaw motorcycle gang, at a Philadelphia sports bar in 1995.

Philadelphia native William DePena, 39, who was issued a summons Wednesday for conspiracy to promote gambling, also is a reported mob associate and friend of Nicodemo.

Milgram has refused to discuss any of the suspects' connections to organized crime in Philadelphia, except to say: "Any allegation that the mob would be involved in Atlantic City we take very seriously."

Along with the several state law-enforcement agencies involved in the investigation, several local police departments have been credited by the Attorney General's Office for their assistance. Those include departments in Margate, Ventnor, Galloway Township, Egg Harbor Township, Sea Isle City and Brigantine.

Brigantine Police Chief Art Gordy said his department assigned officers and detectives to help State Police with surveillance and any other parts of the investigation where they were needed, since some of the targets live in the town, including Procopio.

"It's always good to be able to work with them. It gets our guys involved with something we wouldn't normally be involved in, a gambling ring or empire," Gordy said. "Our people learn a lot from it. … Some (police) can go a whole career and never get involved in a case like that. Plus you get to know who the players are in your town."

The Associated Press and staff writer Martin DeAngelis contributed to this report.