Five plead innocent in alleged bookmaking ring

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

The judge set bond Tuesday at $75,000 for James Gordon O'Shea, 34; Barbara Jean Patten, 30; Wallace Nakano, 31; and Michael Joseph McCarthy, 30, all of Los Angeles. He set bond at $50,000 for Randall Jay Johnson of Santa Fe.

O'Shea, Ms. Patten, Nakano and McCarthy 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, according to court documents.

Johnson, 37, was charged with one count 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.

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

Alfred Joseph De Carolis, a Nevada man accused of being the ringleader of the alleged Santa Fe-based ring, 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, 39, was arrested Sunday in Las Vegas, Nev., on Sunday, the same day the five 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.