Authorities Arrest 10 in Bookmaking Case

Authorities announced Tuesday what they described as the biggest bookmaking operation uncovered by Orange County investigators and the arrests of 10 California and Nevada residents suspected of illegally taking in about $1 million per month.

The arrests occurred Monday afternoon before the NCAA championship basketball game, which police said is traditionally second only to the Super Bowl among attractions for illegal bets.

About 3:45 p.m., police from Seal Beach, Anaheim and Newport Beach and the district attorney’s office served 11 search warrants, including one at a Cerritos commercial building where they believe the operation was housed. While searching the building, in the 11100 block of Artesia Boulevard, officers also took bets from callers, Anaheim Lt. James Flammini said.

“The phones were ringing nonstop from the time we arrived to the time we left. . . . I probably took $40,000 in bets from 3:45 p.m. to 6:15 p.m.,” Flammini said. “There were 12 phone lines.”

Most of the bets were being placed on Monday night’s game between the University of Arizona and favored University of Kentucky, which was upset by Arizona.

“There’s going to be a lot of happy people, because about 90% of the action was on Kentucky,” Flammini said. “But of course, the bets didn’t count because we were answering the phones.”

Bettors who have been identified probably will not be charged but may be called to testify, Flammini said.

Investigators alleged that those arrested, who range in age from 22 to 65, were taking at least 100,000 bets per month at the Cerritos location and another in Lake Tahoe.

Arrested in California were Alyn Murdoff Brannon, 65, of Costa Mesa; Mark Kiyo Snyder, 30, of Trabuco Canyon; Sushma Gohil, 22, of Orange; Spencer Haruo Okuno, 32, of Pasadena; and Decourcy Wright Graham, 55, of Corona del Mar. Brannon recently spent two years in state prison for bookmaking, Flammini said.

Arrested in Nevada were Michael Franklin Reeder, 35, of Zephyr Cove; Michael Reid Harvin, 30, of Stateline; Damien Leroux, 30, of Ontario, Canada; Shannon Ione Dolan, 23, of South Lake Tahoe, and Nicole Suzanne Berlandier, 24, of South Lake Tahoe.