Suzette Parmley of the Philadelphia Inquirer had an interesting piece (published 4/10/12) about the prospects of internet gambling in Atlantic City.  Though other forms of online gambling may be legalized in the near future (with servers exclusively housed in Atlantic City), Parmley also notes (emphasis added): The Justice Department, in December, reversed its...

Readers of Black Brothers, Inc.: The Violent Rise and Fall of Philadelphia’s Black Mafia (Milo 2005/07) are all too familiar with the city’s infamous history of minority contracting schemes.  In short, the ostensible goal of such entities as the Minority Business Enterprise Council (MBEC) is to increase the percentage of municipal contracts managed...

The Philadelphia Inquirer (3/21; byline George Anastasia) has an update re: the cases against “reputed mob boss Joseph Ligambi and George Borgesi, Ligambi’s volatile nephew and fellow mobster.”  The key revelation concerns Louis “Bent Finger  Lou” Monacello, “a wannabe wiseguy who loved playing the game but is trying not to...

Though dead-smack in the middle of an academic semester, I have tried to follow the FBI’s point-shaving probe of Auburn University basketball player Varez Ward (also see here).  I will likely return to this subject when time permits, but for now I thought I’d offer a few quick comments on the broader topic of gambling and college sports. During the...

As reported in the Philadelphia Inquirer (3/2/12, byline Harold Brubaker): Donald Hellinger, who has a record of fraud dating to the 1980s, pleaded guilty this week to charges that he, along with four codefendants, illegally transmitted $44 million in overseas Internet gambling winnings to U.S. citizens through a defunct Bucks County company. The company,...

As reported (John F. Morrison, 2/7/12) in the Philadelphia Daily News: JANAZAH prayers will be said at 1 p.m. today for Eugene Carl “Bo” Baynes, a founder of the Black Mafia who died Saturday at age 73. The service will be held in the Philadelphia Masjid, at 47th Street and Wyalusing Avenue. According to law-enforcement files, Baynes joined with...

The Associated Press reports (as covered by the Philadelphia Inquirer, 1/24/12): TRENTON – With opinions on the odds of the New York Giants, who play in New Jersey, winning the Super Bowl dominating sports-talk radio Monday, two New Jersey congressmen introduced bills that would let the state offer legal sports betting. Republican U.S. Rep. Frank...

The Philadelphia Inquirer reports (1/10/12): The New Jersey Legislature approved a measure Monday that would legalize sports betting at casinos and racetracks in the state. The bill passed by a 35-2 vote in the Senate, and the Assembly approved it by 73-0. It now heads to Gov. Christie… In November, New Jersey residents overwhelmingly approved a ballot ...

The Associated Press offers the latest regarding the ongoing changes in the area of online gambling law (full story is here): LAS VEGAS (AP) — The fight to fully legalize online gambling in the U.S. is now less about whether Americans will be able to play and more about who will bring the action to them — and when. A recent U.S. Justice Department opinion...

The enforcement of laws regarding gambling, especially on the internet, continues to evolve.  Jim Wolf and Nicola Leske of Reuters offer the following (published 12/25/11): (Reuters) – The Obama administration cleared the way for states to legalize Internet poker and certain other online betting in a switch that may help them reap billions in tax...