Police Do the Booking for Gambling Suspects

Sure, gambling’s illegal. But everybody does it, so why not put a little money on today’s Super Bowl?

Police said that three men with that very attitude were jailed Friday on suspicion of running a sports gambling operation out of a Main Street bar and restaurant.

Maurice Liken, 73, of Newport Beach, and Kenneth Gray, 40, of Long Beach, were being held Saturday in the Orange County Men’s Jail on suspicion of conspiring to commit bookmaking, while Nader Tahvildari, 46, of Los Alamitos, was arrested on suspicion of allowing bookmaking at his restaurant, Papillons. All were being held in lieu of $100,000 bail.

During a four-month investigation, undercover officers said the restaurant was the scene of blatant gambling on professional and college football games.

Undercover officers routinely placed wagers with Gray and Liken, said Seal Beach Police Department Sgt. Don Dye.

It was not immediately known how much was being made from the gambling.

The state Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control and the Orange County district attorney’s office were also involved in the arrests.

The ABC is also expected to take administrative action against Papillons, where Tahvildari is one of the holders of the bar’s liquor license, according to ABC officials. Administrative action could result in the restaurant’s liquor license being suspended or revoked.

Dye said countless people will undoubtedly be betting on today’s Super Bowl--the Dallas Cowboys play the Pittsburgh Steelers--but he offered this observation: “It could be an undercover officer you’re dealing with.”