Bookie Ring Broken Up, Officials Say

A suspected national bookmaking ring that authorities say took in at least $1 million a week in illegal bets was broken up Sunday by a law enforcement task force that arrested 10 people in Los Angeles, Anaheim, Las Vegas and Santa Fe, New Mexico.

The arrests occurred shortly before the first of Sunday’s two National Football League conference championship games, which traditionally generate millions in legal and illegal betting.

A detective with the Los Angeles Police Department, who asked not to be named, said the ring was formerly headquartered in Los Angeles but moved to New Mexico after LAPD vice officers opened an investigation.

Details of the crackdown were sketchy Sunday, and identities of the three suspects arrested in Anaheim and one in Los Angeles were unavailable. An Anaheim police official said Sunday he was unaware of the arrests in his department’s jurisdiction. An LAPD source said officers from his department participated in the Anaheim arrests.

Included among those arrested in the Santa Fe raid were James Gordon O’Shea, 34; Barbara Jean Patten, 30; Wallace Nakano, 31, and Michael Joseph McCarthy, 30, all of Los Angeles.

They were expected to be charged with racketeering, commercial gambling and accepting wagers for profit.

The investigation was led by New Mexico law enforcement authorities, who were assisted by agents from the FBI and IRS.

“This is not an office Super Bowl pool,” said New Mexico Atty. Gen. Tom Udall. “This is a national criminal enterprise attempting to relocate to New Mexico from larger metropolitan areas, and we won’t tolerate it.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.