Local News in Brief : Newport Beach : Man Held in Probe of Bookmaking Operation

A large county bookmaking operation that netted $1 million a month and used computers to track team performances was broken up after a 3-month investigation, a prosecutor said Monday.

Authorities said the operation run by Raymond Carl Vincent Jr., 46, of Newport Beach was one of the biggest to come to light in recent county history.

Vincent was arrested Saturday at his home in the 1300 block of Sussex Lane and booked into Newport Beach Jail. He was released on $1,000 bail, a police spokesman said.

No other suspects are being sought, police said.

The arrest culminated an investigation launched by the district attorney’s office and the Newport Beach and Santa Ana police departments, said Deputy Dist. Atty. Wallace J. Wade. Investigators were led to Vincent by a tip, Wade said, but he declined to elaborate.

Warrants were served on Vincent’s home and his business, Elite Embroidery, 2701 S. Orange St. in Santa Ana, which specializes in personalizing athletic gear, Wade said.

Investigators said they recovered computer equipment, software, lists of bettors and identification numbers at the two locations. The operation took bets by phone on sporting events and horse races, police said.

Most of the bettors were local, but at least one was from out of state, Wade said.

Among the software were programs used by many sports enthusiasts and available in most computer stores to keep track of team performances, ratings and other statistical information, Wade said.