tampa jock ban (Update)

Originally Posted by Cannon Shell

One last thing about that race. A couple of guys(fans/bettors) came up to me after the race and thanked me for getting after the jockey. Said that they were regulars and nothing pissed them off more than when after one of those rides the trainer and jock held hands and joked like they were buddies. I told the stewards this story but they still fined me. Honestly I was not really that bad, just told him that was the worst f'ing ride I have ever gotten. Stews said I cant curse in public after a race. I asked them if they ever heard the public after they make a bad DQ? They still weren't impressed.

Thats ok some disgruntled and enraged fan "may" have called the stewards the next day and asked them what they intended to do about it.
The fan "may" have even have said "Am I talking to Stevie WOnder or Ray Charles" when they said they saw nothing to merit action.

[Kasept]

Other shoe finally drops: http://www.drf.com/news/man-pleads-g...thletes-jockey

Man pleads guilty to bribing college athletes, jockey
By Matt Hegarty

A Detroit man accused of bribing college athletes and a jockey who rode briefly in the United States pleaded guilty to three counts, including conspiracy to fix races, in a case that has touched on the careers of several riders.

Ghazi Manni, 57, admitted in U.S. District Court in Detroit on Tuesday that he paid bribes to players at the University of Toledo to shave points in basketball and football games from 2004-06. He also admitted to paying bribes to a jockey, Ricardo Valdes, to hold horses in four races at Tampa Bay Downs and Delaware Park during those same years. Valdes left the United States in 2006, several years before the indictment was released, and his whereabouts are unknown, according to officials.

Although the indictment against Manni and others associated with the scheme was not unsealed until 2009, an investigation into some of the allegations in the indictment had been launched years earlier by the Thoroughbred Racing Protective Bureau, a private investigative agency owned by tracks. As a result of the TRPB probe, Tampa Bay Downs banned seven jockeys, including Valdes, in late 2006, under the suspicion that the jockeys had held horses in races at Great Lakes Downs in Michigan.

Other than Valdes, none of the jockeys was ever charged by authorities, though some tracks, including Arlington Park, temporarily barred several of the jockeys as a result of the Tampa Bay Downs bans. Over the years, most of the affected riders either left racing or received licenses to ride in other jurisdictions, although one jurisdiction, Kentucky, has declined to approve a racing application from Terry Houghton, one of the jockeys banned at Tampa Bay Downs, even though he has filed license applications.

Marc Guilfoil, the deputy director of the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission, said Thursday that the KHRC was scheduled to hold a licensing review hearing for Houghton in January. However, with the case involving Manni now closed, Houghton’s license likely will be reconsidered for approval this year, following discussions with the U.S. attorney’s office that brought the case, Guilfoil said.

In the case of Manni, seven former college players have pleaded guilty, along with Manni’s partner, Mitchell Karam. None has been sentenced.

[GPK]

Holy cow. Great pull on a 8yo thread. What, you own this joint or something?

[GPK]

Hey SB, come to the Tampa vacay reunion in Feb. ATRAB live from BigsMC finish line box.

[Arletta]

Originally Posted by GPK

Hey SB, come to the Tampa vacay reunion in Feb. ATRAB live from BigsMC finish line box.

Happy Birthday Kev

[Kasept]

Originally Posted by GPK

Hey SB, come to the Tampa vacay reunion in Feb. ATRAB live from BigsMC finish line box.

Kev..

Happy belated birthday!

Definitely overdue for return to Tampa.. Will try to make that happen.

[dellinger63]

Curious so just pulled his plea agreement and now the rest of the story.

He is pleading guilty to a single count of fixing a sports contest. (He was only charged with 2 counts despite there being at least a dozen fixed games and a half dozen fixed races listed.) On each count he was facing 5 years and $250K in fines. (Had the government taken the time to file a count for each incident he would have faced a max of 90 years and $4.5 million fine)

He is also consolidating a second Federal case, namely 14-CR-20749 for food stamp fraud, where he was paying 70% for SNAP benefits in cash and then receiving 100% back from the government thereby netting a 30% profit. The SNAP recipient then undoubtedly used the cash received from Manni for non-SNAP purchases, namely liquor and drugs. On this charge he faced 20 years and a 250K fine.

The plea includes a worksheet that cites his past criminal record and low and behold Manni did 2 years in prison for conspiracy to distribute cocaine (2/1/91). He has a violation of the tobacco tax act (3/20/00), Attempt to possess a firearm by a felon (5/19/00) and felon in possession of a firearm (actually three guns). He has been in federal custody FCI Milan since 7/3/13 and is requesting time served be included in figuring out his plea bargain sentence.

What's disturbing is he reserves the right to withdraw his plea should the total sentence decided upon be greater than 70 months.

Unlike State prison where everyone most often ends up doing a little less than 50% of time sentenced in the Fed it's 80%. So if the judge went along with the suggested maximum Manni would face 56 months. With one year and 5 months already served he'll be out in 3 years and 3 months.

So much for getting tough on crime!

Please Mr. Prosecutor, for the sake of the broken down horseplayer, let's take this POS to trial, on separate charges, as a habitual offender!