Opening the book on betting operation

It was a multimillion-dollar operation run by one of the biggest bookmakers in Philadelphia.

It included wiseguys and wannabes, gamblers and hustlers and, most surprising, a suspected hit man and the brother of his alleged victim.

Over 20 months, it generated more than $60 million in bets on professional and college sports.

That's part of an inside look at an illegal bookmaking operation that was based in the high-stakes poker room of Atlantic City's Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa, according to a New Jersey State Police affidavit.

Earlier this month , 24 people, including Jack Buscemi Jr., who allegedly headed the operation, were indicted by a state grand jury on racketeering, conspiracy, gambling and money-laundering charges.

Buscemi, 50, of Mullica Hill, is described in the 75-page affidavit as the "largest bookmaker in the Philadelphia area." He is also labeled a "close associate" of reputed Philadelphia mobster Gaeton Lucibello, the alleged consigliere, or number-three man, in the Philadelphia crime family.

The affidavit, obtained by The Inquirer, provides a firsthand account of how the gambling investigation unfolded. It also offers details about the inner workings of a Philadelphia crime family that has slipped back into the shadows after years of high-profile media attention and government prosecutions.

Written by state police Detective David Feldstein, it is based on information provided by confidential sources, FBI agents, casino and state police surveillance reports, and wiretapped phone conversations. It was filed in August 2007 as part of a motion seeking court approval to wiretap phones used by Buscemi and his reputed gambling partner, Andrew Micali.

The affidavit includes details about Lucibello and Anthony Nicodemo, another reputed mobster.

Nicodemo, 36, was among those indicted along with Buscemi and Micali on April 10. The New Jersey Attorney General's Office alleges that he "exercised leadership authority" over the ring.

Lucibello, 55, has not been charged.

In the affidavit, Nicodemo is identified as a "prime suspect" in the unsolved gangland murder of John "Johnny Gongs" Casasanto. Casasanto was gunned down in his South Philadelphia rowhouse on Nov. 22, 2003.

Casasanto's brother, Stephen, 37, is another defendant in the Borgata case, charged with money laundering and promoting gambling.

According to FBI information cited in the affidavit, "Nicodemo was inducted in the Philadelphia LCN (La Cosa Nostra) Family . . . shortly after the contract murder of . . . John Casasanto."

Traditionally, participating in a murder is a requirement for formal initiation into a Cosa Nostra family.

To law enforcement and underworld sources, the FBI allegation implies that the leadership of the family – individuals such as Lucibello and reputed mob boss Joseph "Uncle Joe" Ligambi – would have been aware of the circumstances behind the Casasanto hit and would have presided over Nicodemo's "making" ceremony.

On Friday, James Leonard, the lawyer for Nicodemo, said there was "no truth whatsoever" to the allegation and called the statements in the affidavit a "pack of lies."

Nicodemo and the other defendants in the case are expected to plead not guilty at a preliminary hearing in Atlantic County Superior Court next month. No trial date has been set.

In addition to the mob references, the affidavit also explains how the Borgata investigation began and provides some of the details uncovered during the 20-month probe.

The casino itself was not implicated in the scam, and state authorities were quick to point out that Borgata officials cooperated fully with the investigation. Among the defendants in the case are two former casino poker-room supervisors.

An anonymous phone call early in 2006 set the probe in motion.

A man who identified himself as a "regular" at the Borgata complained about someone named "Andrew" who appeared to be taking bets on a cell phone while sitting at one of the poker tables.

The caller said Andrew was in the poker room Wednesday through Sunday from 3 p.m. to 1 a.m.

That information led investigators to Micali, 32, of Ventnor, who authorities now say was the "controller," or day-to-day operator, of the ring.

In March 2006, with Micali in its sights, the New Jersey State Police began an undercover operation.

Over the next 20 months, investigators recorded hundreds of phone conversations, used confidential sources to place bets with Micali, and gathered details through surveillance and from the eye-in-the-sky cameras that monitor the action in the casino.

Those surveillance cameras, according to investigators, captured several "settle ups" conducted by Micali. A settle up is the collection or payout of a gambling debt.

Tapes "show Micali looking at what appear to be tally sheets, crossing off the names of bettors, and then" making payments, the affidavit alleges.

In one, Micali is "observed withdrawing approximately $5,000" from a safety deposit box in a room adjacent to the high-stakes poker parlor.

With undercover detectives watching, Micali and a gambling customer then entered a nearby restroom. A few minutes later, as the customer emerged, investigators saw him place an undetermined amount of cash in his pocket.

Another investigator then went into the men's room where he saw "Micali crossing a name off what appeared to be a tally sheet."

The affidavit alleges that Micali bought an interest in Buscemi's sports-betting business in 2005. It is unclear whether the Borgata bookmaking operation was already underway or whether it began after Micali teamed with Buscemi.

According to information provided by the FBI, Micali paid Buscemi $500,000 for a 10 percent interest in his book, placing the value of the business at $5 million.

Buscemi, according to a second affidavit, has no legitimate source of income. Yet, investigators say, in October 2007 he bought a $550,000 house in Mullica Hill where he and his wife live.

The house is now the subject of a forfeiture action by the Attorney General's Office.

"Surveillance conducted during the course of the investigation did not reveal that Buscemi engaged in any legitimate employment activities," according to the affidavit filed in November to support a motion to seize the house.

Surveillance from the Borgata, however, includes a tape of a July 14 meeting that investigators say shows Buscemi conducting business.

In the video, Buscemi is seen handing Micali between $15,000 and $20,000 in cash, according to the affidavit. Micali then wound a rubber band around the wad of cash, which he stuffed into his right front pocket.

Investigators said Buscemi left the poker room while Micali stayed behind to "settle up" with customers.