Another raid at a loacl club

[BISCO]

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Technically they did not charge a rake or a fee to sit at the table, just a usaged time at the entire club. (Kind of a gray area, assuming it is legal to play poker.

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are you kidding me?

do you think the police are THAT stupid?

the place was a profitably card room, no two ways about it. just because the owners think they found some cute loophole doesnt make it magically legal.

[Luv2DriveTT]

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That is a freakin hot dealer. Ive never seen one that cute in B&M.

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I guess you havent been to NYPC lately. There is a new dealer who I'll take over any drink girl at the Borgata! Guys were winning $26 pots and tossing her a green chip...

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Time for me to start playing NL!

the weekly 'home' game has a really cute Korean gal dealing. I'm busy trying to get her fixed up cause she is too cute to remain single.

TT [img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img]

PS: I live in NJ, but I won't play here except in AC. Too much risk.

[Jersey Nick]

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PS: I live in NJ, but I won't play here except in AC. Too much risk.

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TT, I was interested to hear your take. Even though I only know you from the board, I was pretty sure this would be your position too.

Loophole, shmoophole - there was no way this operation stood a chance. I had buddies from work who wanted me to go to 5th St. a couple months ago. When I saw it on meetup I begged off and warned them that it would be a matter of weeks before it was busted.

The only way I would play in a club in NJ was if it was a Mason, Elk, Ealge, etc. game and I was a member. I hear the Masons are recruiting, but I don't really see myself as the secret-handshake type.

[camp43]

http://www.dailyrecord.com/news/arti...1-gambling.htm

Police: Roxbury cops ran gambling club in Dover
By Peggy Wright, Daily Record

Authorities have broken up a makeshift, illegal casino housed in a massive warehouse in Dover, where two Roxbury police officers and their friend allegedly ran poker games and tournaments that raked in as much as $10,000 a week.

The two officers -- Sgt. Richard M. Winstock, 36, of Independence, and Thomas J. Juskus, 42, of Knowlton, both in Warren County -- were suspended with pay immediately after their arrests Saturday on charges of official misconduct, conspiracy, maintaining a gambling resort, and promoting gambling since at least Dec. 4. Their 5th Street Club, is in an 8,000-square-foot warehouse at 48 Richboynton Road in Dover.

Winstock's wife, Jennifer Winstock, 32, was charged with the same offenses, as was Scott K. Furer, identified as the 42-year-old, day-to-day manager of the illicit gambling business and a resident of Lackawaxen, Pa.

The Morris County Prosecutor's Office -- aided in Friday's midnight raid by state police -- swooped down on the warehouse with a helicopter hovering overhead to scan the rooftop and provide protection. Forty-five people were inside, including Furer, said Morris County Prosecutor Michael M. Rubbinaccio.

Rubbinaccio and office Chief of Investigations Joseph A. Devine said that records seized from the club are being scrutinized to see whether other police are involved in the enterprise or listed as any of the 340 recorded club members. Officers seized $27,000 at the club and searched both officers' lockers at work on Saturday.

"Part of their scheme was to allow police officers to gamble free of charge in an attempt to protect themselves and infect other officers into getting involved in illegal gambling," Rubbinaccio alleged Monday.

The warehouse had been under surveillance since January and undercover detectives posing as customers started going inside in March as non-members, where they traded hundreds of dollars for chips to play poker games, prosecutors alleged.

The undercover investigators were urged to give tips to dealers, offered the chance for a massage, and told nonmembers were welcome on Monday nights, when they would pay $5 per hour, prosecutors said.

Memberships cost $75, and members were charged $10 per hour to play, according to an arrest affidavit prepared by Prosecutor's Office Detective Thomas Primo.

The undercover officers were encouraged to play in tournaments with top prizes of $3,800 and $6,000, the affidavit said

Neither Winstock could be reached for comment Monday, but a woman who answered the phone at their Independence home and identified herself as Richard Winstock's sister, Lisa, said that a law firm in Woodbridge has been retained.

"They are very, very eager to give their side of the story but have been advised by legal counsel not to talk at this time," said Lisa Winstock.

Anthony Arbore, a lawyer retained by Juskus, said the officer will maintain his innocence.

"What we're dealing with here is a long-standing law enforcement officer with an exemplary history. The bottom line is these people, they tried purposefully to do everything by the book. They were up front with all authorities," Arbore said.

The Dover zoning board of adjustment in August 2004 gave the Winstocks approval to operate a "social club" for members only at the warehouse, that supposedly would operate four days a week and have four to six employees. Maximum usage would not exceed 100 people, according to the application.

Shortly before the approval was granted, the prosecutor's office received information that two Roxbury officers were involved in heavy gambling at local firehouses, according to records. A superior officer in Roxbury then told an assistant prosecutor that two Roxbury officers, including Winstock, were interested in running a poker tournament. The same superior told the prosecutor's office that two officers were planning to open a social club that would allow gambling and other social-related activities on the premises.

After the zoning board gave its approval based upon an application that did not emphasize poker playing, the prosecutor's office for months monitored the growth of the club and information disseminated on its Web site.

The Web site referred to poker meeting groups, tournaments, and refers to one tournament drawing 195 players. On March 21, two undercover officers met Rich, whom they learned was Winstock, and he confided to them that he invested over $100,000 in renovating the club, the arrest affidavit said.

Winstock allegedly spoke to the officers about other illegal gambling clubs in the area, and then an undercover proposed to Furer that he was interested in setting up a club in Bayonne that was similar to 5th Street Club.

In talks in April about such a plan, Furer allegedly told the undercover that Winstock had to "take a couple steps back" because he is a cop and the warehouse enterprise was "in a grey area."

Furer allegedly confided that the business used the best attorneys available, and he dismissed concerns about law enforcement raiding the club because, he said, police officers belonged to 5th Street and "the phone would be ringing off the hook if something were going to happen," the affidavit said.

The arrest affidavit states that on April 18, one of the undercovers posing as a patron got a message from Jennifer Winstock, who said she had taken over her husband's shares of the business and would be the person to whom he would have to talk about starting another gambling business in Bayonne. Jennifer Winstock confided that her husband had been ordered by Roxbury Police Chief Mark Noll not to go to the club anymore.

The wife told the undercover that her husband was awaiting word from the chief, who allegedly was consulting with the prosecutor's office about his role in the club, the affidavit said. On April 24, the undercover officer met with Richard Winstock, who said he started out running poker tournaments at firehouses and confided that he knew an internal investigation was under way into 5th Street Club.

"He acknowledged the possibility that 5th Street Club could be raided at any time," the affidavit said of Winstock's discussion with the undercover. Winstock also claimed the club made between $8,000 and $10,000 in a good week.

Noll, the police chief, said early Monday that both officers were "excellent officers."

"It's unfortunate that they've gotten into an area that they shouldn't have," Noll said.

Noll could not be reached for comment at his office or at home, after the prosecutor's office released copies of the arrest affidavits for the four defendants.

In the affidavit, Winstock is quoted as telling the undercover in April that his chief does not want him involved in the club.

Township Manager Chris Raths said the township was aware of both officers' involvement in a social club and recently had requested information from them to make sure the operation was legitimate.

"My understanding was they were not directly involved in the club and they had contacted their own attorneys in regard to the legality of the club," Raths said.

Both Winstocks were arrested at their home simultaneous to the raid on the club. Juskus, who authorities said contributed about $19,000 to the club's formation but was trying to sell his share to the Winstocks, was arrested Saturday.

Furer was picked up during the raid. All are free on bail.

[StellarWind]

It appears from the articles that the operators adopted a deliberate strategy of catering to cops and allowing them to play for free as a method of protecting their business.

I don't see a harmless poker room anymore. I see organized crime. Protecting the integrity of law enforcement agencies is very important. Even an appearance of corruption is very bad. I don't blame the DA for taking a hard line if this is what was actually happening.

[Luv2DriveTT]

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It appears from the articles that the operators adopted a deliberate strategy of catering to cops and allowing them to play for free as a method of protecting their business.

I don't see a harmless poker room anymore. I see organized crime. Protecting the integrity of law enforcement agencies is very important. Even an appearance of corruption is very bad. I don't blame the DA for taking a hard line if this is what was actually happening.

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I concur.

TT [img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img]