6 More Plead Guilty in Multimillion-dollar Sports Betting Ring

MAYS LANDING, New Jersey - As reported by The Press of Atlantic City: "Six more men accused of involvement in a 23-person, multimillion-dollar sports betting ring that operated out of the
  Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa pleaded guilty Thursday to referring betters to the organization.

"Joseph Baldino, 23, Frank Baldino, 21, William DePena, 40, Dominic Grande, 28 and Bernard Malseed, 64, all of Philadelphia, pleaded guilty to the third-degree charge of promoting gambling. Russell Brown, 44, of Egg Harbor Township, also pleaded guilty to the same charge.

"Joseph and Frank Baldino, DePena, Grande and Brown all admitted before Superior Court Judge Michael Donio that they assisted an illegal bookmaking operation, referring bettors in exchange for money and taking more than five bets in excess of $1,000 on any given day.

"Malseed said he allowed members of the betting ring to use his apartment, but he was not sure what exactly took place or what bets may have been made. Malseed did admit that he was aware an illegal bookmaking operation was taking place, and he said he received money in exchange for providing his apartment space.

"In exchange for their guilty pleas, the men will receive probation and as many as 364 days in the Atlantic County Jail. Charges of racketeering, conspiracy and money laundering also will be dropped, attorneys for the men said.

"The ring, which authorities say operated out of a poker room at Borgata for 20 months, was busted in November 2007, when a multi-agency investigation, dubbed Operation High Roller led to the arrests. New Jersey Attorney General Anne Milgram previously said the ring took in $60 million in bets, but Borgata itself was not involved..."