Colts Neck man admits role in Web sports gambling ring

[Qbins Missile Crisis]

He gave code names and passwords to gamblers

SOMERVILLE — A Monmouth County man pleaded guilty Friday to his role in an Internet sports betting operation that accepted thousands of dollars a month in illegal sports wagers.

Anthony Pecoraro, 35, of Colts Neck pleaded guilty to promoting gambling and conspiracy to promote gambling before Superior Court Judge Edward Coleman.

Pecoraro was among five individuals, including former New York Jets and Chicago Bears guard Richard Todd Burger, who were arrested on Dec. 15, 2007, on gambling charges following a four-month investigation dubbed Operation Net-Bet Blitz.

That probe began when authorities learned that gamblers in Somerset County were placing bets through a las vegas casino hotel resort at beteastsports.com, a Web site connected to the gambling ring, according to Somerset County Prosecutor Wayne Forrest.

Undercover detectives were able to place dozens of bets on sporting events through the Web site, Forrest said. Investigators found that Pecoraro controlled access to the Web site by distributing code names and passwords to the gamblers, setting gambling limits, settling disputes and paying and collecting money on the bets, Forrest said.

Three times during the investigation, an undercover State Police detective met with a member of the ring in Bridgewater to pay Pecoraro for gambling losses incurred during the probe, Forrest said.

Pecoraro was arrested in December at the Cheesequake Rest Area on the Garden State Parkway after detectives had set up another meeting to pay Pecoraro gambling losses, Forrest said.

Detectives seized $42,914 in cash from Pecoraro, Forrest said. Authorities said they also seized two computers, financial records, $20,000 in cash and a safe containing $900 from Pecoraro's home in Colts Neck.

Authorities also seized a computer and financial records from Pecoraro's business, Traffic Safety Services on Hadley Road in South Plainfield.

Burger, 37, of Freehold who played for the Chicago Bears from 1994 to 1997 and the New York Jets in 1998, collected gambling debts for the ring, according to authorities.

Also facing gambling charges are Stephen Barone, 35, of Jackson, and Daniel Alaimo, 52, of Metuchen, who acted as "agents'" by steering other gamblers to Pecoraro in exchange for a percentage of the money generated by their gambling activity, authorities said.

The fifth person charged, Peter Carfaro, 27, of Brooklyn, operated his own gambling operation, on this and other Web sites, on Staten Island and in Brooklyn, and placed bets with Pecoraro through Barone, authorities allege.

Pecoraro, represented by Somerville attorney John McDonald, will be sentenced June 6. As part of a plea agreement, Pecoraro will be placed on probation, fined and ordered to perform community service.

Participating in the investigation were the New Jersey State Police Troop B Criminal Investigative Office, the Middlesex, Monmouth and Ocean County Prosecutor's Offices and the Colts Neck, Freehold, Howell, Jackson and South Plainfield police departments.

By MICHAEL DEAK • GANNETT NEW JERSEY
April 5, 2008
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