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Dennis Atiyeh of Whitehall Township, Pa., on Thursday was acquitted of illegal gambling and money laundering charges linked to his Sports Marketing and Sales corporation and to the English Sports Information Processors of Montego Bay, Jamaica. Atiyeh's company also owns the Las Vegas Sporting News. English Sports is an enormous licensed Jamaican sports book.
Atiyeh was accused of filtering as much as $4.5 million from American businesses in Pennsylvania and Louisiana to the Jamaican sports book. He faced a sentence of life in prison if convicted, but a jury decided that he had not violated either the applicable state or federal gambling and currency laws.
The trial began March 5, and prosecutors submitted approximately 500 exhibits into evidence. The jury deliberated less than three hours before rendering a not guilty verdict on 16 counts. Atiyeh's brother, Joseph Atiyeh, received a directed verdict in the case, which had links to the popular 800-TELEBET offshore wagering system.
"They brought the case just before the five-year statute ran on the thing," said Atiyeh's attorney, Ken Hense. "They'd done a ton of work on the thing, but it was a case that was complicated for a jury to understand."
As is the issue generally.
Hense, a noted gambling expert, says he has a remedy.
"Really, the answer to this thing is they have to regulate it and tax it," he says. "It's not going to work to try to ban it. People will bet. The American public doesn't want to be told you can't gamble or drink."
Just don't tell that to Congress, which has begun considering a ban on betting on NCAA sports events.
Atiyeh was accused of filtering as much as $4.5 million from American businesses in Pennsylvania and Louisiana to the Jamaican sports book. He faced a sentence of life in prison if convicted, but a jury decided that he had not violated either the applicable state or federal gambling and currency laws.
The trial began March 5, and prosecutors submitted approximately 500 exhibits into evidence. The jury deliberated less than three hours before rendering a not guilty verdict on 16 counts. Atiyeh's brother, Joseph Atiyeh, received a directed verdict in the case, which had links to the popular 800-TELEBET offshore wagering system.
"They brought the case just before the five-year statute ran on the thing," said Atiyeh's attorney, Ken Hense. "They'd done a ton of work on the thing, but it was a case that was complicated for a jury to understand."
As is the issue generally.
Hense, a noted gambling expert, says he has a remedy.
"Really, the answer to this thing is they have to regulate it and tax it," he says. "It's not going to work to try to ban it. People will bet. The American public doesn't want to be told you can't gamble or drink."
Just don't tell that to Congress, which has begun considering a ban on betting on NCAA sports events.
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