LV targets in sports betting ring probe are fighting back

Friday, Dec. 13, 1996 | 11:59 a.m.

and Gary Thompson

Targets in the probe of an alleged mob-related illegal sports betting ring operating between New York and Las Vegas have launched an offensive in a Las Vegas court.

Attorney Oscar Goodman filed court documents Thursday asking that a district judge unseal an affidavit that led to a search warrant for offices at 1620 S. Decatur Blvd.

A hearing is set for Monday in District Judge Jack Lehman's courtrom.

Goodman declined to identify his client, but authorities have named Las Vegans Howard Lederer and Billy Walters as among those caught on more than 4,000 hours of court-approved wiretaps of the alleged betting ring.

New York prosecutors said Lederer, a professional gambler who participates in high-stakes poker games, operated "The Annex," the Las Vegas arm of the betting ring.

He allegedly provided information on sports betting lines to New Yorkers, including James Rossi and Frank Tramontano, who authorities said are associated with the Genovese crime family of New York.

The Las Vegas search warrant was issued Dec. 5 and executed Dec. 7, but no arrests were made. Prosecutors in New York have said charges may not be filed for months.

At the request of Metro Police Detective Daniel Jacobson, the documents leading to the search warrant were ordered sealed at the time the warrant was issued.

Goodman said there were "substantial lawful items of property seized which preclude the occupants from conducting lawful activities ... together with large sums of money, chips and betting tickets from licensed casinos."

He stated that the affidavit needs to be unsealed to determine if there was probable cause to issue the search warrant.

"Secret proceedings, star chambers and sealed documents are un-American even where gaming regulation is concerned since the occupants are presumed innocent of any wrongdoing," Goodman said in court documents.

Lederer and Walters, a golf course developer and sports bettor acquitted of wrongdoing in the Computer Gang case a few years ago, declined to comment on the investigation.

Lederer's HL Consulting, Walters' Sierra Sports Consultants and the untitled operation at 1620 S. Decatur were raided by Metro Police and State Gaming Control Board agents last weekend.

The authorities seized documents and computer records at those locales and at the residences of Lederer and his mother, Rhoda. Also seized was about $5 million in cash in safe-deposit boxes and telephone betting accounts at several Las Vegas casinos.

In New York, officials have filed attachments blocking the transfer of certain property, including real estate and bank deposits, owned by Lederer, Rossi, Tramontano and others.