Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1962-12-02
GAMBLING
Many Agencies Join.
In Battle on Crime

legal arsenal against organized
crime was the law to strengthen
the 1851 statute prohibiting in
terstate shipment Of slot ma
chimes. That was passed just
before Congress went home this
year.
Have Other Effects
The new laws that are now
resulting In stepped-up indict-
ments and convictions report
eddy have had these other ef-
fects:
The courts seem willing tc
impose heavier penalties or
gamblers caught under the new
laws than they were when the
only Federal weapons against
gambling were under the ta1
statutes. In a recent Oklahoms
case. for instance, the defend.
ant pleaded guilty to two count.
Of travelling in interstate com.
merce to carry on his gambling
enterprise and was sentenced
to serve five years and pay
$4,000 on each of the tive
counts-to run consecutively
The gamblers have lost some
Of the key tools of their trade
Most Of the Nations leading
race wire services, through
which the gamblers have beer
supplied with fast information
from the tracks. have shut
down.
AS for the manufacturers o.
tip boards, punchboards anc
similar gambling parapherna.
liza, a number have shut dowr
voluntarily and others have
submitted written consents II
which they admit that theil
business may subject them II
prosecution and therefore they
are disseminating it. The con,
SentS also state specifically
that If they resume business
they will be subject to prosecu'
ton for their previous activity
Involves Dice Game
Typical Of the cases mad'
under the new law was one IL
a Pennsylvania city involving
one of the largest dice games
on the East Coast. Interna
Revenue had no jurisdiction
. and the. local police weren'
acting.
Under the new law, FB
agents started their surveil
! lance. They noticed New Jer
Sey license tags outside tn
building and established tina
customers were being carried
back and forth across Stat,
lines. That gave the FBI juris
diction under the new law ban
ming travel to further an lille
gal enterprise. One, hundret
FBi agents we're brought in TO
the raid and found $4,000 OF
the dice tables.
The combination of new Law
and an attorney from the Or
ganized Crime Section on tn
scene saved an investigation
and made a case. IRIS agent
had been investigating
= Wheeling bookmaker for VIC
lating the wagering tax Law
! They were ready to move 1
when he apparently suspecte
: he was under investigation an
got a tax stamp. The paymer
of his excise tax would nc
have been due for anothe
month so the agents no longe
had probable cause to make
raid. 10
Sentenced to 4 Years
The Justice Department at
torney. advised that some q
the bookmaker's employees wer
! crossing State lines with thei
: bags Of numbers, told the IRt
r agents to continue surveillanc
under the new law bannin
: travel in furtherance of an II
E legal enterprise. The bookmakC
was sentenced to serve fou
y years.
S A case made by the FBI in
D cluded a cloak-and-dagser pun
e suit through the Hudson Tub
r in New York and a raid time
4 with such clockwork preciSio
that a $30,000-a-day number
: operation was found in fu
> swing. Eight men have bee
: indicted on charges Of con
spiracy to violate the travt
statute and interstate trans
portation Of gambling materia
: as well as 26 counts of specifi
) violations. They have pleadc
guilty to the conspiracy an
: await trial on the specifi
charges.
In addition to gambling, tn
4 new travel law has been use
successfully in interstate prosti
tuition and extortion cases.