Cleveland-area Internet cafes and suppliers plead not guilty to gambling-related charges
Customers shown in this file photo at the Infinity Cafe choose among several dozen sweepstakes games. (Gus Chan, The Plain Dealer)
By April 29, 2013 at 12:00 PM, updated April 29, 2013 at 12:11 PM
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Nine people and representatives for eight businesses connected to Internet cafes in Cuyahoga County pleaded not guilty this morning to gambling-related crimes.
The businesses include local internet cafes Emerald Isle in Euclid and Collinwood Cyber Cafe in Cleveland, as well as two New Jersery firms, software supplier VS2 Worldwide Communications and hardware supplier P&E Technologies.
Also entering not guilty pleas were, Akron-based Elite Entertainment, Canton-based CKare Corp. and Parma Heights-based Buresti Enterprises, all of which serve Internet cafes in Northeast Ohio.
Those arraigned before Common Pleas Judge Deena Calabrese were named earlier this month in an indictment containing charges of money laundering, conspiracy to engage in corrupt activity, engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity and possession of criminal tools.
Infinity 2, an Internet caf in Westlake, and its two owners will be arraigned at a later date.
County Prosecutors Timothy J. McGinty has accused VS2 of being a "multi-state Internet gambling syndicate" and has vowed to shut down the cafes, which he considers to be illegal gambling parlors.
Federal, state and local police raided six Internet cafes in Cuyahoga County on April 17, seizing video terminals and cash while searching for evidence of illegal gambling and other criminal activity.
The cafes contend they are legitimate businesses that sell internet and phone service to people who are then offered the chance to play slots-like computer games.
Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine has also launched a special state unit to investigate the cafes.
The businesses include local internet cafes Emerald Isle in Euclid and Collinwood Cyber Cafe in Cleveland, as well as two New Jersery firms, software supplier VS2 Worldwide Communications and hardware supplier P&E Technologies.
Also entering not guilty pleas were, Akron-based Elite Entertainment, Canton-based CKare Corp. and Parma Heights-based Buresti Enterprises, all of which serve Internet cafes in Northeast Ohio.
Those arraigned before Common Pleas Judge Deena Calabrese were named earlier this month in an indictment containing charges of money laundering, conspiracy to engage in corrupt activity, engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity and possession of criminal tools.
Infinity 2, an Internet caf in Westlake, and its two owners will be arraigned at a later date.
County Prosecutors Timothy J. McGinty has accused VS2 of being a "multi-state Internet gambling syndicate" and has vowed to shut down the cafes, which he considers to be illegal gambling parlors.
Federal, state and local police raided six Internet cafes in Cuyahoga County on April 17, seizing video terminals and cash while searching for evidence of illegal gambling and other criminal activity.
The cafes contend they are legitimate businesses that sell internet and phone service to people who are then offered the chance to play slots-like computer games.
Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine has also launched a special state unit to investigate the cafes.
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Three Internet cafes in Cuyahoga County
among those indicted on gambling-related charges
Photo: Law enforcement officials raid Players, an
internet cafe, Wednesday in Euclid. Six cafes in Northeast Ohio were raided
with machines confiscated and assets seized. John Kuntz, The Plain Dealer
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Cuyahoga County grand jury indicted 11
people and eight companies connected with Internet cafes Thursday, accusing
them of assorted gambling-related crimes.
The
indictment came a day after federal authorities, along with state and local
police, raided six cafes in Cleveland Euclid and Westlake, seizing video
terminals and cash while searching for evidence of illegal gambling and other
criminal activity.
Three
of the raided cafes and their operators are among those charged in the 146-page
indictment, which includes charges of money laundering, conspiracy to engage in
corrupt activity, engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity and possession of
criminal tools.
Indicted
are Sreyleak Ny, 30, of Parma, who operates Black Diamond Tech, which does
business as Collinwood Cyber Cafe; Robert Rogers, 40, of Westlake and Terry
Fiala, 60, of Bay village, who operate Cyber Time Cafe Westlake, which does
business as as Infinity 2; and George Hasrouni, 42, of Stow, who operates
Hasrouni Investments, which does business as Emerald Isle; George Buresti, 68,
of Parma Heights; George Georgekopolous, 38, of Massillon; Pete Georgekopolous, 41, of Massillon; and Christos Karasarides
Jr., 47, of Canton.
McGinty's
news release refers to VS2 as a "multi-state Internet gambling
syndicate" that "pays the necessary tribute to politicians' political
funds in the various states and city councils," engages in obstructive
legal tactics and provides lawyers to defend the organization.
Indicted
along with VS2 and hardware supplier P&E Technologies, also of New Jersey,
are VS2 operators Phillip Cornick, 51, of Jackson, N.J., and Richard Upchurch,
59, of Ramseur, N.C.; and VS2 representative Michael Koty, 50, of Bloomsbury,
N.J.; Elite Entertainment, CKare Corp., and Buresti Enterprises. Inc.
Supporters
say the cafes are legitimate businesses that sell Internet or phone time and,
as a sweetener, offer customers a chance to win money on computerized games
resembling those on slot machines. Critics, including Horseshoe owner Rock Ohio
Caesars, say the storefront parlors are cover for unregulated and illegal
gambling.
