2 Arrested in Raid on Alleged Football Betting Operation

Some football fans in the San Fernando Valley are disappointed by more than the fact that the Los Angeles Raiders will not be playing in Sunday’s Super Bowl game. Their illegal bets on the big game have been busted.

Minutes before the start of last Sunday’s American Football Conference Championship playoff game between the Raiders and the Buffalo Bills, vice officers raided locations in Canoga Park, Chatsworth and Simi Valley, breaking up an alleged bookmaking operation that collected $350,000 in one week.

Edward Rastellini, 52, of Simi Valley and James Coulsell, 59, of Canoga Park were arrested on suspicion of felony bookmaking, Los Angeles Police Sgt. J. J. Thompson said.

The two men are free on $2,500 bail and face arraignment Feb. 19.

A preliminary police accounting indicated that about $350,000 in bets were placed during the week of Jan. 7 to 13.

Rastellini’s residence in the 3400 block of Austin Avenue in Simi Valley was searched, and officers found two personal computers, two slot machines, a shredding device, a copying machine and betting records.

An apartment in the 21700 block of Septo Street in Chatsworth where police said Rastellini may have taken bets was also searched. Police would not say what if anything was found at that location.

At Coulsell’s residence in the 20400 block of Keswick Street in Canoga Park, police found a phone bank and other equipment and betting records.

The New York Giants, who beat the defending-champion San Francisco 49ers last weekend, face the Bills in Super Bowl XXV in Tampa, Fla., on Sunday. Bookmakers in Las Vegas, where betting is legal, are favoring the Bills to beat the Giants by 6 1/2 points.