Raiders Seize 6 Gambling Suspects in Van Nuys

Six people have been arrested in an investigation of a sports betting ring that was “really gearing up for the Super Bowl” and was accepting about $150,000 to $200,000 a week in bets from across the San Fernando Valley, Los Angeles police said Friday.

Police made the arrests in raids of three Van Nuys homes Thursday and Friday, said Sgt. Bill Martin.

The investigation began six weeks ago when undercover vice officers checking a Canoga Park bar, which was alleged to have served drunks, overheard people talking with bookmakers and making bets on the telephone, Martin said.

Surveillance of the bookmakers led police to the three homes, one of which was a “dummy,” apparently set up to lead investigators off the track, Martin said.

Betting Materials Found

But, at the other two homes, one in the 7900 block of Stansbury Avenue and the other in the 8800 block of Hazeltine Avenue, detectives found $12,000 in cash, many telephones and answering machines and records of betting transactions, Martin said.

The records indicated that the ring had dealt with as many as 300 bettors since as early as last September, Martin said. The betting rooms’ central location in the Valley and the volume of bets led investigators to believe that the ring operated “Valleywide,” he said.

The records also showed that the ring was “really gearing up for the Super Bowl,” Martin said.

“The ledgers were full,” he said.

The names of the four men and two women arrested were withheld because the investigation is continuing, Martin said. The suspects, three of whom lived in Van Nuys and three of whom lived in Canoga Park, were released on $500 bail each. They are scheduled for arraignment in Van Nuys Municipal Court on Feb. 27, Martin said.