Posted By: Eugene Taylor

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. authorities said on Wednesday
they cracked a $3.3 billion Internet gambling ring with the
arrest of 27 people in four states including a Major League
Baseball scout and a professional poker player.
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Authorities said the illegal operation, based in New York
City's borough of Queens, was alleged to have taken in $2.5
million a day over the last 28 months through the Web site
Playwithal.com and was the largest they had ever broken up.

"It rivals casinos for the amount of betting," New York
Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly told a news conference. "The
magnitude of this really boggles the mind."

The Web site functioned as a computerized betting sheet and
was operated by professional poker player James Giordano, 52,
of Pine Crest, Florida, who was charged with being the scheme's
bookmaker by taking the bets.

Bets through the site and through a toll-free "800" number
were taken on horse racing, football, baseball, basketball,
hockey, golf, car racing and tennis.

Frank Falzarano, 52, of Seaford, New York, was charged as a
"runner" in the scheme and identified on Wednesday by
authorities as a scout for baseball's Washington Nationals and
a former scout for the San Francisco Giants.

Queens District Attorney Richard Brown said these were the
first arrests since President George W. Bush signed legislation
last month effectively banning Internet gambling by making it
illegal for banks and credit card companies to make payments to
online gambling sites.

Arrests were made in New York, Nevada, Florida and New
Jersey and charges in the indictment include enterprise
corruption, money laundering, promoting gambling and
conspiracy.

Seized in the bust were four Manhattan condominiums,
millions in cash, tens of thousands of dollars in casino chips
from Las Vegas' Bellagio casino, rare art, jewelry, gold coins,
and a football signed by the 1969 New York Jets championship
football team.

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