California Justice Department charges LAPD officer in illegal gambling operation
State prosecutors have filed charges against a Los Angeles Police Department officer and two others, accusing them of running an illegal gambling operation where participants placed high bets on the outcome of the Super Bowl.
The California Department of Justice’s Fraud and Special Prosecutions section filed felony charges of bookmaking Wednesday against Officer Robert Felix, 49, Francisco Martin del Campo, 52, and Gabriel Martin del Campo, 51, the LAPD said Friday. The alleged incidents took place from February 2018 through January 2020 in L.A. County.
In a statement, the LAPD said its Special Operations Division investigated the alleged operation along with the Justice Department’s Bureau of Gambling Control and the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control.
Officials said Felix is a 13-year veteran of the LAPD and had been assigned to its Transit Services Division. They said the Department of Justice has asked that the LAPD not move forward with an administrative personnel investigation until after his scheduled April 22 arraignment in Pomona.
The LAPD said the officer is assigned home with no police powers.
Felix did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The other two defendants could not be immediately reached.
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