Connecticut Cops Arrest Three More Men for Alleged Illegal Gaming Operation

Posted on: January 26, 2021, 12:51h. 

Last updated on: January 26, 2021, 01:57h.

Ed Silverstein @casinoorgedsilv Read More
Expertise: Legal, Tribal Gaming.

Three Connecticut men are the latest suspects charged in the state’s ongoing inquiry into illegal gambling at local stores.

Segundo Fabian
Segundo Fabian, pictured in a mug shot here, and two other men were arrested in an illegal gambling raid. The raids were part of a long-term investigation by Connecticut State Police’s Organized Crime Task Force. (Image: Connecticut State Police)

The trio was arrested earlier this month in connection with a Connecticut state police investigation of illegal gaming at several bodegas, according to Monday’s report from the News-Times, a Danbury-based newspaper.

Sterling David Peralta Taveras, 33, Segundo Fabian,62, and Guillermo Betances, 59, were each charged with illegal professional gambling, illegal possession of gambling devices, and illegally maintaining gambling premises. The men reside in Waterbury and turned themselves in to police on Jan. 13.

Taveras, Fabian, and Betances were being held on $100,000 bail, state police said. Taveras and Fabian are scheduled to appear in Waterbury Superior Court on Feb. 17. Betances is scheduled to appear in the same courthouse on Feb. 25.

Details on the illegal gaming operation were not immediately available from police.

Multiple Bodegas Investigated by State Police

Each of the arrests followed long-term investigations by the state police’s Organized Crime Task Force, which included multiple bodegas throughout Connecticut, authorities told the News-Times.

Three other bodega owners in Danbury and one other in Waterbury were arrested on similar charges during the last several weeks.

Vicente S. Encarnacion, 56, of Danbury, was arrested on Dec. 31. He was charged with illegal gambling, illegal possession of gambling records, and illegally maintaining gambling premises. Encarnacion was identified as the owner of Danbury’s Deli and Market. The business was searched by police last February.

State police said a number of items related to illegal gambling operations were found in the store, including a laptop and printer, gambling receipts, and about $8,501 in currency.

Encarnacion was charged with illegal professional gambling, illegal possession of gambling devices, and illegally maintaining gambling premises.

An ex-employee, who formerly was a co-owner, was said to have sold Dominican Lottery wagers from the store, the news report added. He was not named.

More Than $260K Found in Connecticut Businesses

Two other Danbury bodega owners, Nilo Antonio Espinal, 41, and Cesar Jose Vasquez, 43, were arrested on similar charges in November. The arrests followed police searches of local food stores, which turned up over $260,000, police said.

When police searched Espinal’s Torres Grocery, they allegedly found “a number of items of evidence related to (an) illegal gambling operation,” including betting receipts, gambling notes, and a safe containing more than $74,000 in cash,” the newspaper reported. Also found were names and amounts written on paper.

Police claim these were pay-outs from winnings, the News-Times said. Espinal later told police he “did not know anything about illegal gambling, sports betting, nor the Dominican Lottery,” according to an arrest warrant quoted by the newspaper.

Police allege Espinal and Vasquez were coconspirators in “a large scale, illegal gambling organization,” the News-Times said.

Authorities said they found $2,491 in Vasquez’s pocket during a search that day. Police also found “numerous gambling receipts, computers utilized for gambling activities, printing equipment used to document gambling activities,… a shotgun, multiple passports, and ledgers documenting what is believed to be evidence of loan sharking and approximately $192,476.65 in US currency,” the newspaper said.