Four people have pleaded guilty to participating in an illegal poker cheating operation. The defendants were charged last year, with one of them facing separate charges for baseball corruption.
The Illegal Poker Operation Sought to Defraud High-Rollers
The alleged scheme saw criminals host illegal high-stakes poker games, tricking high-rollers into participating, despite having little chance of actually winning. The participants conspired and used hidden technology to determine the sequence of cards, communicate, coordinate their play, and defraud players.
A total of 31 people were ultimately charged with participation in the scheme. The illegal gambling ring is believed to have been tied to the Gambino and Genovese crime families.
Now, several of the people charged for association with the operation have pleaded guilty.
Four People Plead Guilty, Bringing the Total Number of Guilty Pleas to 15
The four people who pleaded guilty included the following:
- Angelo Ruggiero Jr.
- Howard Beach
- Nicholas Minucci
- Shane Henner
For reference, Ruggiero is the son of Angelo “Quack Quack” Ruggiero, a now-late man who used to be one of the Gambino family’s close associates.
Hennen, on the other hand, is a man whose name also appears in a high-profile baseball cheating scandal. Authorities believe that he scouted for corrupt players wishing to participate in the manipulation of matches for monetary gain. He is also said to have participated in a scheme where he placed under prop bets on Toronto Raptors star Jontay Porter after an insider tipped him off that Porter would pull his punches.
In the poker operation, Hennen likely served as the supplier of the technology used for the cheating, prosecutors allege.
The latest guilty pleas come shortly after Joseph Lanni also pleaded guilty. In total, 15 of the 31 people charged in the poker scheme case have now submitted guilty pleas.