Two men, both of whom had Stamford connections, were sentenced Thursday to federal prison for their involvement in an organized, crime-controlled gambling business, officials announced.
According to Acting U.S. Attorney for the District of Connecticut Deirdre M. Daly, sentenced were Richard Uva, 45, of Trumbull, and Victor Amereno, 43, of Stamford. Uva was sentenced to 46 months in prison, 3 years supervised release and ordered to forfeit $250,000 while Amereno was sentenced to six months in prison, three years supervised release and ordered to forfeit $15,000.
The arrests came as a result of a long-term investigation led by the FBI Fairfield County Organized Crime Task Force, the IRS Criminal Investigation unit and the Stamford Police Department. Uva and Amereno were arrested along with 18 other individuals for their roles in an illegal Internet sports bookmarking operation and illegal card gambling clubs throughout Stamford and Hamden.
Uva and Dean DePreta, another arrested party, are alleged to be associated of the Gambino organized crime family, according to Daly.
Uva was accused of assisting DePreta's operation of a large-scale, offshore bookmarking website www.44wager.com, based in Costa Rica. Uva was labeled the "master agent" for the operation, supervising a network of bookmakers that included among them Amereno.
Uva also reportedly supervised a card club at 2965 State Street in Hamden, in which a percentage of every hand played went to the house. He admitted to committing acts of extortion while participating in the racketeering enterprise and collected "tribute" payments from independent sports bookmakers operating in the state. A portion of those payments went to the Gambino Family associates in New York.
The total gross revenues of the Stamford-based gambling operation reached approximately $1.7 million between October 2010 and June 2011.
$175,000 was seized from Uva's former Stamford residence on April 28, 2011. He's been out on bond since his June 13, 2012, arrest. Uva pled guilty on August 5, 2013, to one count conspiring to violate the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act.
Depreta pled guilty to the same charge and was sentenced on October 9, 2013, to 71 months federal imprisonment, fined $50,000 and ordered to forfeit $300,000.
Amereno pled guilty on April 1, 2013, to one count of operating an illegal gambling business.
18 of the defendants in the case have agreed to forfeit approximately $1.4 million, Daly said.
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