Alleged bookie lived in Santa Fe during early 1980s

Wednesday, Jan. 15, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.

Alfred Joseph De Carolis, 39, earned a business degree from the College of Santa Fe in 1981, where he tried out for the basketball team and later helped recruit players.

De Carolis was arrested in Las Vegas on Sunday, the same day five others were arrested in Santa Fe and four others were arrested in the Los Angeles area. Police said the ring handled $1 million each week in bets on sports events from across the country.

The gambling operation allegedly moved from Los Angeles to Santa Fe last fall, just days before a planned raid by Los Angeles authorities.

James Gordon O'Shea, 34; Barbara Jean Patten, 30; Wallace Nakano, 31; and Michael Joseph McCarthy, 30, all of Los Angeles, were arrested in Santa Fe.

They were charged Monday with one count each of racketeering, conspiracy to commit racketeering, commercial gambling and tax evasion, and six counts each of accepting wagers for profit, court documents said.

Randall Jay Johnson, 37, also arrested in his hometown of Santa Fe, was charged with one count each of racketeering, conspiracy to commit racketeering, commercial gambling, accepting wagers for profit, tax evasion and permitting premises to be used for gambling, documents said.

"Each of these individuals were arrested at their desks while taking bets," Assistant Attorney General Jerry Marshak said Tuesday during a court hearing.

The five defendants pleaded innocent Tuesday before state District Judge Steve Herrera, who set bond at $75,000 for all but Johnson, whose bond was set at $50,000.

The four Los Angeles residents were being held in the Santa Fe County Detention Center. Johnson was released after posting bond.

Records for seven telephone lines showed that from Oct. 23, 1996, to Dec. 9, 1996, more than 14,500 calls came in from throughout the United States.

The telephone bill for the period was more than $6,500, New Mexico Attorney General Tom Udall has said. Callers used a toll-free number to place bets on college and professional football and basketball games.

Officers from the Santa Fe Police Department, New Mexico Department of Public Safety, Los Angeles Police Department, the FBI and the Internal Revenue Service also participated in the Santa Fe raid.