"Unscrupulous bingo hall operators with mob connections are skimming millions of dollars in cash from their daily proceeds, investigators in Broward and Palm Beach [Florida] counties say" (Friedberg 1995).
"In recent years, investigations by state police [in New Mexico] and the Governor's Organized Crime Prevention Commission have revealed numerous problems with charity gambling, including illegal cash payouts and infiltration by organized crime and local racketeers" (Peterson 1995).
Two men were charged with fraudulently trying to obtain a bingo license by concealing the investment backing of organized crime members (U.S. vs John Difronzo and Donald J. Angelini).
"A Dayton man pleaded guilty Friday to federal charges in connection with skimming more that $1.418 million from seven charitable, tax-exempt organizations operating bingo games in Dayton and Cincinnati" (Hills 1995).
CONCLUSION: CRIME IS STILL A PROBLEM WITH GAMBLING
As was suggested at the beginning, Mr. Fahrenkopf and his associates would have much more success in squelching the "old" gambling-crime "stereotypes" if not for the fact that there still exists a real connection. We have looked at only a small amount of the possible evidence, and the conclusion is undeniable: gambling, in whatever form, means crime.
Although the gambling-crime connection is still a serious problem with the gaming industry, expect gambling interests to continue their denial of the problem. Unless, of course, it is in their best interest to advertise the crime connection. For example, consider what some card casinos did in California: "By narrowly approving the casino, Inglewood voters rejected warnings that the club would worsen problems with drugs, gangs and prostitution. Ironically, those warnings were spread by rival casinos, particularly the Bicycle Club, which spent more than $80,000 on an ill-fated effort to prevent establishment of a competitor" (Rabin 1994).
Only when admitting the truth may boost profits can we expect the gambling industry to acknowledge the crime connection, as was the case in Inglewood, California. Otherwise, it will be business (i.e. denial) as usual for gambling interests. Although crime is still undeniably a problem with gambling, profits come before people and the public good.
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