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2 charged with racketeering
Drug investigation leads to gambling operation
Michael Stewart
@PensacolaNewsJournal.com
Two local men face state charges of racketeering and are suspected of operating a gambling operation with ties to a Central American company.
Scott Andrew Carstens, 52, of the 2500 block of Mary Fox Drive in Gulf Breeze, and Keith M. English, 30, of the 400 block of Fort Pickens Road on Pensacola Beach, each face one count of racketeering, a first-degree felony that carries a maximum punishment of 30 years in prison and a $10,000 fine.
The two men are accused of acting as bookmakers, collecting and paying out sports gambling bets made on a Web site operated out of Costa Rica.
"We're talking about potentially tens of thousands of dollars in bets," Assistant State Attorney Russ Edgar said. "There were dozens and dozens of bettors from the local area, in state and out of state."
Carstens and English were booked into Escambia County Jail on a $25,000 bond each. As of Friday afternoon, English had posted bond. Carstens had not.
Carstens also is among the 53 suspects arrested in Operation Sandshaker, a law enforcement effort against a suspected cocaine ring.
The suspected ringleader of that drug ring, Mitchell "Jackie" Seale, told investigators he placed about four bets with the gambling operation and that Carstens conducted his gambling business with a number of people who frequented The Break, a Pensacola Beach bar, according to an affidavit.
Carstens, a local builder, pleaded not guilty on federal drug conspiracy charges in connection with Operation Sandshaker.
Investigators overheard Seale placing a bet Nov. 4 on the Miami-Ohio college football game during a wiretap authorized to obtain evidence of a suspected cocaine ring. Edgar said the gambling operation and Operation Sandshaker are not related.
"It's just coincidence," Edgar said of Carstens' arrest in both cases.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the State Attorney's Office began working the gambling case in June, after a former employer of English alerted authorities. The employer, suspicious of English's Internet activities while at work, hired a computer expert who determined that English was conducting Internet sports gambling, according to the affidavit.
English was fired and started his own computer company, 19 Communications Services in Gulf Breeze.
The investigation into the gambling activities was put on hold late last year after participating agencies realized Carstens was a suspect in both the gambling and cocaine cases, Edgar said.
Once Operation Sandshaker solidified, the gambling case was reactivated.
A confidential informant told investigators English and Carstens traveled to Costa Rica in late 2002 or early 2003 and met with an individual who ran Safe Deposit Sports, a Web site where people could place bets on sporting events, according to the affidavit.
Gamblers would place a bet on the Web site using a code provided by Carstens or English, who would collect from losers and pay winners, authorities believe. "Basically, they were taking book. But instead of placing bets over the phone, they would do it on the Web site," FDLE special agent supervisor Ed Hudson said.
Edgars said an 800-number operated out of South Florida was set up to take bets by those who did not have access to a computer.
"We have not figured out the money flow exactly," Edgar said. "But the amount of money made was potentially substantial."
FDLE spokeswoman Lisa Lagergren said it was believed the bets included "anything sports- related." Edgar said more arrests are likely. Bettors could face misdemeanor gambling charges, but the focus now is on those running the operation, Edgar said.
How it went down
According to an affidavit of probable cause, the State Attorney's office believes:
Gamblers would place bets at Safe Deposits Sports online at safedepositsport.com using a code provided by Scott Carstens or Keith English. The two men would check the Web site to see who had bet, whom they should pay and from whom they should collect money.
The business was conducted using cash. Safe Deposit Sports received $28 a week for each bettor. A toll-free telephone number also was set up in South Florida for gamblers not linked to the Internet.
Drug investigation leads to gambling operation
Michael Stewart
@PensacolaNewsJournal.com
Two local men face state charges of racketeering and are suspected of operating a gambling operation with ties to a Central American company.
Scott Andrew Carstens, 52, of the 2500 block of Mary Fox Drive in Gulf Breeze, and Keith M. English, 30, of the 400 block of Fort Pickens Road on Pensacola Beach, each face one count of racketeering, a first-degree felony that carries a maximum punishment of 30 years in prison and a $10,000 fine.
The two men are accused of acting as bookmakers, collecting and paying out sports gambling bets made on a Web site operated out of Costa Rica.
"We're talking about potentially tens of thousands of dollars in bets," Assistant State Attorney Russ Edgar said. "There were dozens and dozens of bettors from the local area, in state and out of state."
Carstens and English were booked into Escambia County Jail on a $25,000 bond each. As of Friday afternoon, English had posted bond. Carstens had not.
Carstens also is among the 53 suspects arrested in Operation Sandshaker, a law enforcement effort against a suspected cocaine ring.
The suspected ringleader of that drug ring, Mitchell "Jackie" Seale, told investigators he placed about four bets with the gambling operation and that Carstens conducted his gambling business with a number of people who frequented The Break, a Pensacola Beach bar, according to an affidavit.
Carstens, a local builder, pleaded not guilty on federal drug conspiracy charges in connection with Operation Sandshaker.
Investigators overheard Seale placing a bet Nov. 4 on the Miami-Ohio college football game during a wiretap authorized to obtain evidence of a suspected cocaine ring. Edgar said the gambling operation and Operation Sandshaker are not related.
"It's just coincidence," Edgar said of Carstens' arrest in both cases.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the State Attorney's Office began working the gambling case in June, after a former employer of English alerted authorities. The employer, suspicious of English's Internet activities while at work, hired a computer expert who determined that English was conducting Internet sports gambling, according to the affidavit.
English was fired and started his own computer company, 19 Communications Services in Gulf Breeze.
The investigation into the gambling activities was put on hold late last year after participating agencies realized Carstens was a suspect in both the gambling and cocaine cases, Edgar said.
Once Operation Sandshaker solidified, the gambling case was reactivated.
A confidential informant told investigators English and Carstens traveled to Costa Rica in late 2002 or early 2003 and met with an individual who ran Safe Deposit Sports, a Web site where people could place bets on sporting events, according to the affidavit.
Gamblers would place a bet on the Web site using a code provided by Carstens or English, who would collect from losers and pay winners, authorities believe. "Basically, they were taking book. But instead of placing bets over the phone, they would do it on the Web site," FDLE special agent supervisor Ed Hudson said.
Edgars said an 800-number operated out of South Florida was set up to take bets by those who did not have access to a computer.
"We have not figured out the money flow exactly," Edgar said. "But the amount of money made was potentially substantial."
FDLE spokeswoman Lisa Lagergren said it was believed the bets included "anything sports- related." Edgar said more arrests are likely. Bettors could face misdemeanor gambling charges, but the focus now is on those running the operation, Edgar said.
How it went down
According to an affidavit of probable cause, the State Attorney's office believes:
Gamblers would place bets at Safe Deposits Sports online at safedepositsport.com using a code provided by Scott Carstens or Keith English. The two men would check the Web site to see who had bet, whom they should pay and from whom they should collect money.
The business was conducted using cash. Safe Deposit Sports received $28 a week for each bettor. A toll-free telephone number also was set up in South Florida for gamblers not linked to the Internet.
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