Quote:
Originally Posted by lansdale
Yeah, but c'mon -- first of all the mob wouldn't be extorting her in the first place unless her game was pulling in serious coin. As far as the rake -- do you really think the Feds would have busted her for running a raked 1$/2$ game in Steubenville, OH? And BTW, I'm pretty sure the rake was still much less a factor in her bust than the $100 million being laundered through the game by the Russian mob (see link below). Haven't seen the movie in awhile, but I believe this was downplayed, if mentioned at all. As far as the laundering went, she really was clueless -- she had just gotten way in over her head and lost control of the game once she moved it to New York, which is a much tougher environment on both sides of the law.
Re your other question, this is pretty open-ended. I'm not especially knowledgeable re mob, but it must be obvious to you that they still control a number of industries in various parts of the country, even in their weakened state. I think, in general, the answer would depend on the location, the specific type of business, and the level of corruption and/or competence of local police and public officials. Also, not only cash-businesses but industries with minimal regulation are prime mob targets. If you ever seen 'Goodfellas' or watched few episodes of 'The Sopranos,' they're very well-researched.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Molly_Bloom_(author) |
Sorry for the bad link -- the one below should work. I've pasted in the relevant information. Another link to 'Hollywood Reporter' take.
''In 2011, one of Bloom's games in Los Angeles was shut down as part of a bankruptcy investigation into a Ponzi scheme run by Bradley Ruderman, one of the players.[17] Bloom, who had received money from Ruderman as part of the game, was accused of receiving $473,000 from Ruderman's bank to settle his debts and sued by the bankruptcy trustee for $473,200, but she denied that she was involved in organizing illegal gambling.[17] Bank records showed 19 transfers to Bloom in 2007 and 2008 for amounts up to $57,500.[13]
On April 16, 2013, Bloom was arrested and charged along with 33 others as part of a $100 million Russian mob money laundering and illegal sports gambling operation.[2] Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, charged 12 people with racketeering. Others were charged with money laundering, extortion, fraud and operating illegal poker rooms in New York City. Bloom, who was 34 at the time, faced a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison, six years of supervised release, a fine of $1.5 million or twice the amount gained from the crimes or twice the amount lost by victims, and a $200 special assessment.[18][19]
In May 2014, Bloom pleaded guilty to a lesser charge and was sentenced to one year of probation, a $200,000 fine, and 200 hours of community service.[20] At the sentencing, Bloom's lawyer, Jim Walden, told the court that Bloom was in severe debt which included forfeiting $125,000 in poker proceeds as part of the plea. He stated that Bloom had "been ordered into the gambling business" by her boss at a Los Angeles real estate company,[21] then went on to create her own illegal poker game in New York in 2009."
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Molly_Bloom_(author))
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/ne...russian-440482
