Ex-State Trooper Admits to Tipping Off Illegal Gambling Mastermind

Louis Ferrari II, the target of the investigation, was informed by Thomas Loewke about a pending raid against the criminal’s properties. This was admitted by Loewke himself during a court hearing in which he admitted to charges of obstruction of justice.

Obstruction of Justice to Get Defendant Up to 18 Months in Prison

The case concerned an illegal Internet website that Ferrari II hosted and operated. Upon receiving the tip, he immediately changed the admin passwords for accessing the website, altered its appearance, and further deleted any digital footprint that could have helped authorities establish what amount of sports bets had been placed on the website.

The trooper was charged in January with obstruction of justice and his latest court hearing was before US District Judge David Larimer. Loewke was the first to be arrested, which led to the arrest of seven men several weeks later, all of whom were accused of running various illegal gambling sites that accept sports wagers and poker games. The accused are said to have run the sport700.com domain, of which Loewke was a customer himself, the prosecutor said.

More Criminals Involved in the Case

Ferrari was working with a number of other accomplices, including Dominic Sprague, Tommaso Sessa, Anthony Amato, Joseph Lomardo, Joseph Boscarino and James Cilvetti. Ferrari is said to have amassed $1.25 million in winnings from the website, whereas Amato supposedly benefited to the tune of $8.9 million from the illegal gambling operation. Their cases are still being tried.

Loewke’s admittance of guilt will now cost him between 10 and 18 months in a minimum-security prison. Prosecutors have insisted on the stiffer penalty, as the officer had betrayed the trust vested in police authorities.

The “abuse of trust” sentencing principle, though, was rebuked by Loewke’s lawyer, Michael Schiano who said that it should not be applied to this sentencing. Schiano said that Loewke was contrite about his actions and wanted to face the penalty and “get on with his life.”