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Federal, state, and local law enforcement officials yesterday arrested 32 people in Boston and around the state, breaking up what they described as an organized gambling syndicate that earned more than $1 million a year.
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The 15-month investigation, called "Operation Barber Shop," came after the execution of 27 search warrants. More than $70,000 was seized, along with 33 laptops, which officials said was the largest seizure of electronic evidence in state history.
They said the organization, which used barber shops, convenience stores, and travel agencies as fronts, allowed people to illegally gamble on lottery numbers and sports games.
Officials said they struck on the day of the Red Sox home opener in hopes of catching the ring in operation.
"Make no mistake: This was not a harmless neighborhood lottery or sports book," Daniel F. Conley, the Suffolk district attorney, said at a press conference yesterday. "It was a gambling enterprise where the game was rigged in favor of the ring, and it was fraught with violence and corruption."
Conley identified the alleged ringleader as Jesus Reynoso, also known as "Marcos," 44, of Roslindale.
He said Reynoso's enforcer was Victor Rosado, also known as "Moreno," 39, of Mattapan. State Police arrested both men without incident yesterday after troopers followed them using GPS tracking devices on their cars.
Reynoso and Rosado will be arraigned this morning in West Roxbury District Court. Both face up to 15 years in prison.
The operation began at 2:30 p.m. yesterday, when 15 teams of local, state, and federal law enforcement officers executed warrants on Reynoso and Rosado's homes and vehicles and nine businesses in Dorchester, East Boston, Jamaica Plain, Roslindale, Roxbury, Lawrence, Leominster, and Worcester, Conley said.
Each business allegedly served as a front for Reynoso and Rosado's syndicate, with individual operators paying 60 percent of their gambling profits to the ringleaders, Conley said.
In Jamaica Plain yesterday afternoon, scores of people watched as police carried lockboxes and other evidence from D&D Communications and Vimar Designs on Washington Street.
Conley said Reynoso and Rosado provided each of the front companies with computers and printers for them to take and record wagers.
At the press conference at the Suffolk district attorney's office, police Commissioner Edward F. Davis said the investigation began after officers responded to a January 2007 armed robbery at an alleged front company in East Boston.
"It was very clear that it was more than a simple armed robbery, that there were significant ramifications to the incident that occurred," Davis said. "It very soon became clear that this was a complex criminal organization that needed a much larger look."
Davis and Conley said the investigation remained active and that it was possible they would make more arrests.
Assisting prosecutors and local police in the investigation are the state Attorney General's Office, State Police, and federal agents from the Secret Service, Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, Internal Revenue Service, and the FBI.
Federal, state, and local law enforcement officials yesterday arrested 32 people in Boston and around the state, breaking up what they described as an organized gambling syndicate that earned more than $1 million a year.
more stories like this
The 15-month investigation, called "Operation Barber Shop," came after the execution of 27 search warrants. More than $70,000 was seized, along with 33 laptops, which officials said was the largest seizure of electronic evidence in state history.
They said the organization, which used barber shops, convenience stores, and travel agencies as fronts, allowed people to illegally gamble on lottery numbers and sports games.
Officials said they struck on the day of the Red Sox home opener in hopes of catching the ring in operation.
"Make no mistake: This was not a harmless neighborhood lottery or sports book," Daniel F. Conley, the Suffolk district attorney, said at a press conference yesterday. "It was a gambling enterprise where the game was rigged in favor of the ring, and it was fraught with violence and corruption."
Conley identified the alleged ringleader as Jesus Reynoso, also known as "Marcos," 44, of Roslindale.
He said Reynoso's enforcer was Victor Rosado, also known as "Moreno," 39, of Mattapan. State Police arrested both men without incident yesterday after troopers followed them using GPS tracking devices on their cars.
Reynoso and Rosado will be arraigned this morning in West Roxbury District Court. Both face up to 15 years in prison.
The operation began at 2:30 p.m. yesterday, when 15 teams of local, state, and federal law enforcement officers executed warrants on Reynoso and Rosado's homes and vehicles and nine businesses in Dorchester, East Boston, Jamaica Plain, Roslindale, Roxbury, Lawrence, Leominster, and Worcester, Conley said.
Each business allegedly served as a front for Reynoso and Rosado's syndicate, with individual operators paying 60 percent of their gambling profits to the ringleaders, Conley said.
In Jamaica Plain yesterday afternoon, scores of people watched as police carried lockboxes and other evidence from D&D Communications and Vimar Designs on Washington Street.
Conley said Reynoso and Rosado provided each of the front companies with computers and printers for them to take and record wagers.
At the press conference at the Suffolk district attorney's office, police Commissioner Edward F. Davis said the investigation began after officers responded to a January 2007 armed robbery at an alleged front company in East Boston.
"It was very clear that it was more than a simple armed robbery, that there were significant ramifications to the incident that occurred," Davis said. "It very soon became clear that this was a complex criminal organization that needed a much larger look."
Davis and Conley said the investigation remained active and that it was possible they would make more arrests.
Assisting prosecutors and local police in the investigation are the state Attorney General's Office, State Police, and federal agents from the Secret Service, Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, Internal Revenue Service, and the FBI.