Coeur d'Alene Casino Affected by New York Indictments

In his Friday, January 28, 2004, Huckleberries Online weblog, The Spokesman Review columnist Dave Oliveria linked readers to a January 28, 2004, article in Indian Country Today. That article, headlined "Racing scandal impacts Coeur d' Alene Casino" reported that the New York Racing Association would end its betting and broadcasting arrangement with ten rebate off-track betting companies, including the Coeur d'Alene. This action follows a federal money laundering and illegal gambling indictment of a New York gambling group with alleged ties to organized crime. Representatives of the Coeur d'Alene tribe deny any wrongdoing. According to the cited article, the Coeur d'Alene casino was not charged with wrongdoing. The tribe is discussing its security arrangements with the New York Racing Association in hopes of having its betting and broadcasting arrangement with the Association restored.

A brief explanation of rebate off-track betting and some additional information about the investigation leading to the 88-count indictment are available in an Indian Country Today article posted January 21, 2005, and headlined "Investigation targets off-track betting books."

A January 13, 2005, Thoroughbred Times article discussed the allegation that one 2003 race at Aqueduct had been fixed by giving one horse a performance-enhancing drug. The article also states that some clients received special accounts that allowed them to bet anonymously by phone or over the Internet.

From an Internal Revenue Service publication:

Money laundering is usually defined as disguising the origin or ownership of money generated from illicit activity, or unreported income from a legitimate source. This "dirty money" is produced by two primary means: a. Illegal activities and b. Tax evasion.

Money is brought into the economy in three stages:

Placement - the physical movement of currency into a financial institution, the retail economy or a foreign country;

Layering - the conducting of multiple complex financial transactions to disguise or eliminate any audit trail; and

Integration - the placement of funds back into the economy to give the appearance of a legitimate source.

Like other cash-intensive businesses that handle large volumes of cash, casinos would be attractive as unwitting intermediaries in money laundering operations. Indian gaming casinos must comply with all the requirements outlined in the Internal Revenue Service publication.

A more comprehensive explanation of the effects of and concerns caused by money laundering is available in the U.S. government's publication 2003 National Money Laundering Strategy. That publication outlines the U.S. government's commitment to attack money laundering and terrorist financing on all fronts.