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Iola man guilty in gambling ring
Attorney involved in illegal Internet sports betting
Gannett Wisconsin Newspapers
STEVENS POINT — An Iola attorney has pleaded guilty to a federal gambling charge as part of an illegal Internet sports gambling ring.
Bruce J. Meagher, 51, faces up to two years in prison, a $250,000 fine and one year of supervised release. U.S. District Judge Barbara B. Crabb has scheduled Meagher’s sentencing for July 18 in Madison.
Meagher’s firm serves as legal counsel for the Iola-Scandinavia School District and the village of Iola, said Village President David Harper. He said the Village Board was shocked to learn of the charge Tuesday, and said Meagher was a respected member of the community.
Meagher admitted violating the federal wire wagering act. He partially owned Gold Medal Sports, a foreign corporation that had operated on the Caribbean island of Curacao. The company handled phone and Internet sports bets from U.S. customers in excess of $402 million between 1996 and the first quarter of 2000.
He is the sixth defendant to plead guilty in the Internet sports booking case involving Gold Medal Sports. Its main owners — Duane Pede 53, Amherst Junction, and Jeff D’Ambrosia, 43, Henderson, Nev. — pleaded guilty to racketeering and other charges in December and forfeited more than $3.3 million in criminal earnings.
Pede and D’Ambrosia were sentenced to five years in federal prison in February and ordered to pay more than $1.4 million in back taxes and fines of $100,000 each.
As part of Meagher’s plea agreement, he agreed to pay a fine of $20,000.
According to court records, Meagher invested $50,000 into Gold Medal Sports in 1996, becoming a stockholder in the company.
He also worked as Pede’s private attorney and handled legal issues for Gold Medal, Sports Spectrum and new spin-off developments related to Internet gambling.
Meagher received dividends totaling $71,000 from Gold Medal between 1997 and 2000.
He also helped transfer $250,000 from Gold Medal’s offshore accounts to finance a certificate of deposit in Wisconsin for one of Gold Medal’s managers.
Defendants from Las Vegas and Miami also have pleaded guilty during the three-year investigation.
Filed by the Stevens Point Journal
Attorney involved in illegal Internet sports betting
Gannett Wisconsin Newspapers
STEVENS POINT — An Iola attorney has pleaded guilty to a federal gambling charge as part of an illegal Internet sports gambling ring.
Bruce J. Meagher, 51, faces up to two years in prison, a $250,000 fine and one year of supervised release. U.S. District Judge Barbara B. Crabb has scheduled Meagher’s sentencing for July 18 in Madison.
Meagher’s firm serves as legal counsel for the Iola-Scandinavia School District and the village of Iola, said Village President David Harper. He said the Village Board was shocked to learn of the charge Tuesday, and said Meagher was a respected member of the community.
Meagher admitted violating the federal wire wagering act. He partially owned Gold Medal Sports, a foreign corporation that had operated on the Caribbean island of Curacao. The company handled phone and Internet sports bets from U.S. customers in excess of $402 million between 1996 and the first quarter of 2000.
He is the sixth defendant to plead guilty in the Internet sports booking case involving Gold Medal Sports. Its main owners — Duane Pede 53, Amherst Junction, and Jeff D’Ambrosia, 43, Henderson, Nev. — pleaded guilty to racketeering and other charges in December and forfeited more than $3.3 million in criminal earnings.
Pede and D’Ambrosia were sentenced to five years in federal prison in February and ordered to pay more than $1.4 million in back taxes and fines of $100,000 each.
As part of Meagher’s plea agreement, he agreed to pay a fine of $20,000.
According to court records, Meagher invested $50,000 into Gold Medal Sports in 1996, becoming a stockholder in the company.
He also worked as Pede’s private attorney and handled legal issues for Gold Medal, Sports Spectrum and new spin-off developments related to Internet gambling.
Meagher received dividends totaling $71,000 from Gold Medal between 1997 and 2000.
He also helped transfer $250,000 from Gold Medal’s offshore accounts to finance a certificate of deposit in Wisconsin for one of Gold Medal’s managers.
Defendants from Las Vegas and Miami also have pleaded guilty during the three-year investigation.
Filed by the Stevens Point Journal
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