Thursday, Sept. 9, 1999 | 11:04 a.m.
Thirteen people accused of running a national horse racing scam were indicted by a federal grand jury in Las Vegas on Wednesday.
According to the indictment, more than 30 horse race enthusiasts from as far away as Maine were duped into buying tips on horse races already run and then forced to pay "taxes" to receive their winnings.
Some victims didn't receive their winnings at all, prosecutors claim. They were told their bookies had been robbed.
The incidents are alleged to have occurred between August 1996 and August 1997.
Named in the indictment were: Daniel Sebastian Balkun, Albert Joseph Brango Jr., Curtis A. Branson, Richard William Burdick, James Francis Campanale, Robert Vincent Capucci, Lisa Mary Devroede, Anthony Dibellonia, Ronald David Foresta, Joseph Frank Galasso III, David Franklin Insel, William Thomas Kirinsky and Drew Roger Lang.
According to the indictment, Capucci and Kirinsky opened a sports information business in order to sell information on various sports, including football and basketball. They then solicited clients or hired people to solicit clients.
The defendants reportedly enticed their clients to place bets on horse races, selling them information they told them would allow them to win, the indictment states. The defendants told their clients they would not accept bets, but gave them the names and numbers of "off-shore" bookies.
However, the "off-shore" bookies were actually located in the offices of Capucci and Kirinsky's Las Vegas sports information business, the indictment states.
Once a client decided to place a bet, they were required to place their money with Western Union to be picked up by a bookie representative.
The information the defendants sold their clients actually came from watching sporting events at Las Vegas casinos or on satellite dishes, the indictment indicates.
"The defendants caused the clients to believe that they had won their bets. The clients, however, were told that they could not remove the money from their accounts for a certain period of time," the indictment states.
The clients were also told they had to pay tax on their winnings, the indictment states. Moreover, the clients were told their winnings were going to be flown over to them and so they had to pay for airplane fuel and security guards.
"In some instances, the defendants told the clients that the money had been taken in a robbery. In other instances, the defendants pretended to be mob-connected in order to intimidate the clients into paying the money," the indictment states.
The 13 defendants were indicted on charges of conspiracy, wire fraud and money laundering and two of them, Insel and Burdick, face an additional charge of perjury. Prosecutors claim they lied during two grand jury proceedings.
The defendants have not yet responded to the allegations.
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