Allworld Rick: Illegal sportsbook operator sentenced to 4 months in prison (time done)

[clevfan]

Illegal sportsbook operator sentenced to 4 months in prison

Kevin Murphy
Correspondent for The Capital Times — 8/19/2008 5:29 pm

A man who operated a $400 million Caribbean-based sports bookmaking operation for Wisconsin and Nevada managers was sentenced Tuesday in federal court to the four months he has been detained since his arrest.

Rick McColley, 56, formerly of Florida, was the general manager of Gold Medal Sports, a sport bookmaking firm located on Curacao and controlled largely by Duane Pede of Amherst Junction, Wis.

Pede hired McColley in 1996 as Gold Medal's sales manager. Through unlawful phone and Internet wagering, the business took in more than $400 million on sporting events until 2002.

"You can't pick up a phone and legally place a bet on a sporting event, except horseracing, unless you go to Curacao or you're in the state of Nevada," Assistant U.S. Attorney Dan Graber said after the court session Tuesday.

McColley told U.S. District Court Judge Barbara Crabb that he didn't realize that was the case when he obtained the Curacao licenses that Gold Medal would need, but he admitted that he didn't check with U.S. officials.

McColley, Pede, and five others connected to Gold Medal were indicted in 2002 on several wire fraud counts. The others were Pede's nephew and Gold Medal's chief financial officer, Randy Moreau of Portage County, Pede's attorney Bruce Meagher, Nevada accountant Francis Howard, Orlando, Fla., attorney David Tedder and Jeff D'Ambrosia of Nevada.

The FBI built its case against the sportsbook by placing $1,000 bets on football games in calls from Madison and Beloit to Curacao, where McColley was on the other end of the phone line, Graber said. E-mails recovered during the investigation showed Pede giving orders or approving of McColley's management of the island sportsbook, Graber said.

The government considered Pede, Tedder and D'Ambrosia "Tier I" defendants, most responsible for the illegal wagering operation. Each was initially sentenced to five years in prison and fined $100,000. Pede's and D'Ambrosia's sentences were later reduced after testifying at trial against Tedder.

McColley, Moreau, Meagher and Howard were considered less culpable defendants and served sentences of six months or less, with Moreau's served in home confinement.

McColley's attorney, David Vinikoor of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., asked Judge Crabb to sentence his client to "time already served," which would be about equal to the other "Tier II" defendants.

Graber didn't object to the recommendation, and Crabb agreed, saying McColley's health has deteriorated during the four months he's served in prison and that he did attempt to determine what licenses Gold Medal needed in Curacao.

McColley was a professional gambler for the past several years and a fugitive until his arrest in May in Panama, where he was traveling to a poker tournament. McColley will be released from custody after prison administration has completed his processing.



Kevin Murphy
Correspondent for The Capital Times — 8/19/2008 5:29 pm

[Uncle B]

Is he the 'Rick' that used to frequent these forums, back around 2001-2003?

[clevfan]

yes

[Uncle B]

Wow, thats kinda creepy....too close to home, so to speak...lol

[drunkguy]

"You can't pick up a phone and legally place a bet on a sporting event, except horseracing, unless you go to Curacao or you're in the state of Nevada," Assistant U.S. Attorney Dan Graber said after the court session Tuesday.

as far as I know, that statement is not correct


i guess if they keep saying it, everyone will eventually assume it's true?

[Don Eagleston]

Rick would take a bet! It sounds like Jeff Allen is going back to jail. Hasn't he already served time for the Gold Medal operation/scam?

[JC]

Originally Posted by Don Eagleston

It sounds like Jeff Allen is going back to jail. Hasn't he already served time for the Gold Medal operation/scam?

I don't read it that way. Yes, he already served his time.

[Juice]

Too funny. I worked for Jeff the last year he was in buisness here. At some point we were told a deal had been cut and that we would still be in buisness come August. Something happened between point A and B because when I got back from vacation in June of 01, I was told that was it. I will never forget Jeff siiting in his secretarys chair, in the dark, staring deeply out the window, with his hat on backwards while I walked by on the way to the drug store, when he snapped out of it, waved me in and told me the news.

I was devestated to say the least. I made 38,000 blind in 9 months there and was looking at a mostly easy 60-70-80 a year from then on out. And there method of madness is weak compared to other places out here. Others in there were well over a 100 grand. I had just bought a car, was bragging to everyone how well I was doing and then BAM. JUST CRUSHING.


On a lighter note:


We used to sell gold medal games for 1000 apiece. I had a guy in Texas at 7-1 and a coworker had some rich old lady in San Diego at 12-3, whom he later married. It was not till I came to fourmdom and read thru the various archives that I put the pieces of all that happened together, plus other things in your history. (Its amazing some of you are still alive) I would have known a lot sooner but the second I started working for Feist, everyone I knew, who knew something stopped talking to me.


To end this ramble:


I will say two things. Many people in the know are super convinced this group buried a serious amount of money somewhere (between 40 and 200 million depending on who you believe) and decided they would just do there time and keep it, than cut deal. Is it worth it to lose your freedom and family over millions of dollars?? Its a question that was asked by many back in the day. I couldn't, could you?


Secondly, it never put the service side of the buisness out of commision. Sports Spectrum LLC (Spike Measer, Razor Sharp etc) which was feeding Gold Medal never missed a beat and are as strong as they ever were and nowadays stronger than ever IMO. In addition, Jeff Allen has been back in buisness now for 2 years and is operating like nothing ever happened. In all reality its so far back in time, nothing did happen. Todays marketplace has no clue about his past.

Completly hilarious for anyone whom understands how these things and the buisness really works.


And that ladies and gentleman is your view from the bottom.

[Uncle B]

Originally Posted by Juice

I will say two things. Many people in the know are super convinced this group buried a serious amount of money somewhere (between 40 and 200 million depending on who you believe) and decided they would just do there time and keep it, than cut deal. Is it worth it to lose your freedom and family over millions of dollars?? Its a question that was asked by many back in the day. I couldn't, could you?

I guess it depends on what prison, and how much time, but, 'millions'? Yeah, fuck it, sounds like a decent trade off to me.

[nostaw1952]

I remember that guy, a little jail time should do him a world of good. For two team teasers his joint had push on a win/push, but loss on loss/push, and he insisted that not only was that fair (it isn't), but that it was the norm for the sportsbook industry (it wasn't). There's an ex-Allworld, ex-Imperial Palace employee who still skulks around this forum from time to time, another remnant of that foul book...

__________________________________________________ ___________________
The biggest choke in the history of sports, your 2004…NEW...YORK...YANKEES!!!

[Pancho Sanza]

Originally Posted by nostaw1952

I remember that guy, a little jail time should do him a world of good. For two team teasers his joint had push on a win/push, but loss on loss/push, and he insisted that not only was that fair (it isn't), but that it was the norm for the sportsbook industry (it wasn't). There's an ex-Allworld, ex-Imperial Palace employee who still skulks around this forum from time to time, another remnant of that foul book...

__________________________________________________ ___________________
The biggest choke in the history of sports, your 2004…NEW...YORK...YANKEES!!!

Thats cruel

[Rogthedodger]

Goldmedalsports.com? I played there, just like Bookmaker.com (not the same as the CRIS backed shop now) and a couple of other of those skins.......

[nostaw1952]

Originally Posted by Rogthedodger

Goldmedalsports.com? I played there, just like Bookmaker.com (not the same as the CRIS backed shop now) and a couple of other of those skins.......

Ahhhh, Boomaker, you just jogged my memory, another shady outfit: I sometimes play 3 team parlays, and did so with some moneylines included. I hit one, and the payoff seemed a little light. Whipped out my trusty calculator, and it WAS light. Called them and asked what's up, and after mumbling a non-answer, the putting me on hold forever, they grudgingly conceded that my figures were correct. They corrected the payoff, said that the error was merely a "glitch" in the system, and would be promptly corrected. A few days went by, and I went to play another moneyline parlay, almost identical to the one a few days before, with one of the moneylines being off by a few cents. The payout was wrong again. I complained again, and they told me not to worry about it, that if the parlay hit, I'd be paid the correct amount. It DIDN'T hit, but I didn't like their attitude, and withdrew my money shortly thereafter. I wonder how many poor schmucks had gratefully accepted their hard-to-hit-parlays with the wrong payout. How come those "glitches" never seem to work in OUR favor?

__________________________________________________ ___________________
The biggest choke in the history of sports, your 2004…NEW...YORK...YANKEES!!!

[Bobby C]

Hey, Nostaw, good to hear from you! Where have you been? Why don't you come around more often? We missed you around here!

I know you've never heard those words in your life. I thought I'd give you a taste of what you've been missing.

But thanks for the great story about the three-teamer you played years ago at a book that Rick had nothing to do with. It fits right into this thread perfectly, in no way whatsoever.

You little, little, fraction of a man.

(And oh yeah, I'm delighted to read that it looks like the worst is over for Rick.)

[Juice]

Originally Posted by Uncle B

I guess it depends on what prison, and how much time, but, 'millions'? Yeah, fuck it, sounds like a decent trade off to me.

The description I read of Nellis Air Force base here in Vegas that he was housed at for 4 years back in those days....HELL NO. Just beacuse its a so called white collar crime federal prison does not mean its any better than a so called regular one.

[nostaw1952]

Originally Posted by Bobby C

Hey, Nostaw, good to hear from you! Where have you been? Why don't you come around more often? We missed you around here!

I know you've never heard those words in your life. I thought I'd give you a taste of what you've been missing.

But thanks for the great story about the three-teamer you played years ago at a book that Rick had nothing to do with. It fits right into this thread perfectly, in no way whatsoever.

You little, little, fraction of a man.

(And oh yeah, I'm delighted to read that it looks like the worst is over for Rick.)

Ahhh, but the story DID have something do with Bookmaker, which was WAS mentioned as ANOTHER slimey outfit, you blubbery sack of shit. Compared to YOU, I AM a fraction of a man. What's the matter, your ears tingle when I mentioned the All World Toadie? I still recall how Rich D. had to cut you loose on your last day even earlier than MOST last day fuck-offs because of your sticky fingers and I'm-just-marking-time attitude. He also said when you dragged MRS. Tub 'o Lard into the book, what few small children there were fleed in terror, definite clock stopping material in addition to being a peanut short of 4 hun'ert. I'll bet you two get invited to ALL the big soirees down in Mississippi...

__________________________________________________ ___________________
The biggest choke in the history of sports, your 2004…NEW...YORK...YANKEES!!!

[Bobby C]

Originally Posted by nostaw1952

Compared to YOU, I AM a fraction of a man.

I gotta hand it to him, that is a funny line. There's no denying it.