BETONSPORTS FUGITIVE STUNG INTO A RESPONSE BY
FINTIMES STORY
13 April 2007
"This man has failed to check his sources and
doesn't have a clue as to what he is speaking about."
Not for the first time, someone who is the subject of a
media report has denied the claims made and accused the
publishers of unprofessional reportage. According to the
online gambling information portal Gambling911, the
latest case is BetonSports fugitive Norman Steinberg who
is currently being sought by the US Department of
Justice on a series of charges including money
laundering and racketeering linked to the sportsbetting
activities of BetonSports.com.
911 reports that Steinberg, who it claims is presently
in Costa Rica has lashed out at the UK's Financial Times
over its reportage in an article published late Tuesday
this week.
In the report the FT apparently wrote that Steinberg
once bragged about his "criminal past" only months
before the BetonSports IPO.
“I’ve been in the can and been pushed around by the Feds
... and ya know what??...?I’m still ticking,” the paper
claimed he wrote on an online gambling message board
under the alias “Millenium Sportsbook” in September
2004.
Steinberg told 911: "This man [the author of the
Financial Times piece] has failed to check his sources
and doesn't have a clue as to what he is speaking
about." Steinberg served a brief sentence for an offense
unrelated to internet gambling, 911 reports.
In its report, the FT claimed:
"In 1999 the Department of Justice charged him
[Steinberg] with using forged prescriptions at the
pharmacy he owned in Philadelphia to procure, with the
intent to distribute, more than 500 000 tablets of
prescription drugs, including Xanax, the designer
prescription drug, and Percocet, a drug with opiate-like
qualities. Some of the prescriptions bore the forged
signature of a dead doctor."
The Financial Times speculates in its report that
Steinberg acted as an "informant" for the US Justice
Department, suggesting that he was facing a 31-year jail
sentence and a $1.75 million (GBP 888 000) fine.
However, the US Government lost its key witness in a
doctor who passed away.
The FT article goes on: "Court documents say that Mr
Steinberg assisted in investigations in three other
jurisdictions outside of Pennsylvania, testified before
a US grand jury and wore a secret recording device to
gather information.
"The Department of Justice described Mr Steinberg’s work
for them as “dangerous”, adding he feared he would be
murdered and feared for his family’s safety. He
eventually pleaded guilty to a less serious but related
crime, of omitting material information from required
pharmacy records, in 2003, escaping with a $30 000 fine
and time already served in jail. The other charges were
dismissed."
The BetonSports saga, and that of a number of defendants
still awaiting trial after some 8 months, has been
extensively reported by InfoPowa. The action was
triggered last July when the formerly leading UK betting
group's CEO David Carruthers was arrested by US
authorities whilst in transit from the UK to his Costa
Rican base. Out on a million dollar bail, Carruthers,
together with 11 other defendants, still awaits trial.
The British executive is confined to the city limits of
St Louis and required to wear an electronic tracking
device.
Norman Steinberg, according to 911 is free to move
around as he pleases in Costa Rica because he has
naturalised citizenship there and due to his marriage to
a local Costa Rican lawyer.
Mr. Steinberg, through his representatives, told 911
that he refuted the Financial Times report late
Wednesday night.
"First off, it was no secret that I was indicted in 1999
for pharmacy related charges, it was [a matter] of
public record. Nor did I ever conceal the fact to anyone
that I was indicted, and nor did I leave the US in 1997
because I felt an indictment was forthcoming. As for the
grossly exaggerated years imprisonment that the reporter
stated, that is not true either. I am not going to
discuss the details of the case at this time as it is
over, I have been punished, and set free by the judge to
go on with my life here in Costa Rica."
"Secondly, if I had cooperated with the Justice
Department either with the BOS [BetonSports] case, or
any other offshore industry concern, would they have let
me return unconditionally to Costa Rica with my passport
in hand? I would think that it would have been more
convenient for them to have indicted and charged me with
the crime while I was in DOJ custody, and not in July of
2006. Lastly, if it were true that I was such a
tremendous informant why is it that I have been indicted
in the BOS case, along with my son-in-law who wears a
bracelet around his ankle to this day?"
"In speaking with my lawyer, Mr. Durant, he has not
authored any of the answers as were published in this
article by Mr. Pimlott [the FT reporter]. And
furthermore, if indeed I was on the lam for five years,
what the hell would I know about any "other"
jurisdictions in the US? The author used his fantasy and
speculation to go out of his way to make a mockery of
the DOJ, BOS plc, my lawyer, and myself with one swift,
careless swipe of his pen."
"No one should go any further than the title itself
"Criminal Past of Betonsports co-founder" to say that
this man has failed to check his sources and doesn't
have a clue as to what he is speaking about."
Online Casino News courtesy of InfoPowa
More news here.
Top of page |
Home |
News |
Forum |
Webcast |
Vortran |
Accredited Casinos |
Evil Ones |
Pitch a Bitch |
Online Gambling Resources |
Poker
|
|
