Wednesday, April 10, 1996 | 11:59 a.m.
The Mashantucket Pequots, owners of the casino, revealed the firings and arrests Tuesday in response to a published reports that indicated some dealers were intimidated by organized crime figures make improper payoffs.
Citing law enforcement sources, The Day reported Tuesday that at least two blackjack dealers were believed to have made bogus payoffs while being watched by a mob enforcer on the floor.
On Sept. 30, the Foxwoods casino surveillance shift manager notified the Tribal Gaming Commission that two patrons were seen and taped "capping" wagers, the tribe said.
Capping bets means the dealer lets the player continue to bet even after the final cards of the game have been dealt, thereby multiplying the winnings.
The commission notified state police, who arrested patrons identified by the tribe as Robert Warren of Fall River, Mass., and John Charves of Westport, Mass. They were charged with fourth-degree larceny, the tribe said.
The three dealers were also found to have been involved in the scheme, the tribe said. They were fired Oct. 5 and banned from the premises, the tribe said.
The FBI and Massachusetts state police also were notified.
Connecticut State Police said Tuesday that an investigation into possible gambling irregularities at the casino was ongoing. The Day reported that authorities are focusing on associates of the Patriarca crime family.
Dealers may have been intimidated by organized crime members into making improper payoffs, the newspaper said.
When asked whether the dealers may have cooperated with organized crime members because they themselves owed money to them, tribal spokesman Bruce MacDonald said only that it is possible.
"We know that that is one way that some of these reputed mob types have operated in the past at other casinos, but in terms of confirming that I don't know personally if that was the case," he said. "I don't know what their motives were."
MacDonald said the casino will cooperate with any law enforcement investigation and that the tribe doesn't want any criminal activities occurring at the casino.
"We do not tolerate that sort of activity here," he said "If there are problems, we will aggressively search them out. We have about 11,000 employees and most are honest, upstanding people."
To date, the commission has banned 52 people from Foxwoods because of associations with organized crime, the tribe said.
Authorities believe the Foxwoods scam involved associates of Francis P. "Cadillac Frank" Salemme of Sharon, Mass., who allegedly had been maneuvering to take control of the Patriarca crime family, according to the newspaper.
Salemme has been imprisoned since last fall when he was taken into custody in Palm Beach, Fla. on charges of racketeering, extortion, loan-sharking, money-laundering and gambling.
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