Mob associate gets 18 months in prison

Thursday, Sept. 12, 1996 | 11:59 a.m.

That cooperation led prosecutors to ask for a more lenient sentence for Christopher Tanfield, a former top official in Worldwide Gaming of Louisiana.

Tanfield, 37, was sentenced Wednesday to 18 months in prison for his role in the scheme. He was also ordered by U.S. District Judge Edith Brown Clement to pay $25,000 in restitution to a New Jersey investor. He got another three years of probation after his release.

Jordan said Tanfield's decision to help prosecutors was critical in the decision by his co-defendants to quickly plead guilty.

"Mr. Tanfield played a vital role in the prosecution of co-defendants in this matter," Jordan said.

Tanfield said in court that he and his family have received death threats and have entered a witness protection program. His decision to testify led to the convictions and guilty pleas of 12 of his co-defendants, he said.

"There remains a strong feeling I did right to side with you," Tanfield told the judge just before his sentence.

Tanfield of Navarre Beach, Fla., pleaded guilty last September to one count of racketeering. Other counts against him were dismissed Wednesday.

Clement also ordered Tanfield to report to prison by Oct. 18, turning down a plea from Tanfield for more time to help his wife and 5-year-old son get settled into the witness protection program.

Prosecutors alleged that Worldwide Gaming was a mob-controlled front company for three organized crime families that victimized Bally Gaming Inc., a major slot machine and video poker manufacturer.

As part of his sentencing agreement, Tanfield agreed that his actions cost Bally Gaming $2.5 million and cost another New Jersey investor $250,000.

Twenty-five men either have pleaded guilty or have been convicted of charges relating to the case.

Tanfield's sentencing marks the end of the Worldwide Gaming case, Jordan said after the hearing. Other phases of the investigation continue.

Tanfield handled the day-to-day operations of the mob-controlled company, Jordan said.

Just last week, former state Rep. Buster Guzzardo was sentenced to 21 months in prison after pleading guilty in a separate case.

Tanfield, a co-founder of Worldwide Gaming, testified in a related federal case in October that the company gave Guzzardo gifts and tried to use his influence to obtain video poker licenses.

A grand jury charged that Guzzardo accepted $1,200 cash and a fax machine from Tanfield. Guzzardo also had a Worldwide Gaming truck and crew move his daughter's belongings from Colorado to Louisiana, the indictment charged.

The indictment also accused Guzzardo of pressuring Bally Gaming to do business with Tanfield after published allegations of Tanfield's involvement with New York crime families.