Sportsbook Sting Nets Three in Louisiana

It looks as thought the long arm of the law has reached out once again and grabbed hold of a sportsbetting operation. This time, the perps (or victims, depending on your perspective) were men hailing from the state of Louisiana. They’ve been arrested and charged on suspicion of running an online sportsbetting operation.

HARDENED CRIMINALS?

Shane Musca-Rello, Fredrick Walters and Randall Rose were busted after police ran a sting where they placed bets on a website dubbed TheTinyTuna.com. Johnny Law is no doubt convinced that these individuals own and operate the illegal sportsbook.

To make matters worse, Musca-Rello and Walters have also been arrested and charged in St. Landry Parish by the Louisiana State Police in regards to the same sting.

Nice to know that everything is back to normal in New Orleans after the devastation inflicted by Katrina. Otherwise, how do you explain allotting law enforcement resources for such trivial “crimes”?

Whatever the case, the men are all being held pending a bail hearing.

LOUISIANA - TOUGH ON GAMBLING

This isn’t the first time that the Louisiana State Police have cracked down on online gambling. In 2006, a Louisiana warrant was issued for the arrest of Peter Dick, the Non-Executive Chairman of UK-based Sportingbet. He was later arrested at a New York airport and Sportingbet paid a $400,000 settlement to the state of Louisiana.

In recent times, Nick Jenkins and two associates were extradited to Louisiana from Washington after police conducted a sting operation on their Betcha.com website. They are still awaiting trial.

THE MORAL OF THE STORY

So what’s the moral of this story?

Don’t gamble?

Say your prayers in front of a picture of Dubyah every night?

No, the most likely moral is that Louisiana officials have nothing better to do with their time than track down harmless lawbreakers. Meanwhile, New Orleans remains one of the most crime-infested cities in the United States. Makes perfect sense, right? Thank God that Bodog is safely tucked away in Costa Rica.

For more on the U.S. government’s war on gambling, read the following articles:

European Union Demands Money from the United States

More on the UIGEA

Sportsbook Sting Nets Three in Louisiana