ATLANTIC
CITY - Division of Criminal Justice Director
Vaughn L. McKoy and Thomas Auriemma, Director,
Division of Gaming Enforcement, announced
that the Casino Prosecution Bureau has
charged a former Taj Mahal employee with
devising a fraudulent player rating scheme
whereby he attempted to inflate patron
gaming activity in order to increase the
amount and value of "complimentary"
benefits offered by the casino to the
"rated" player.
Criminal Justice Director McKoy noted
that the Casino Prosecution Bureau, in
conjunction with the Division of Gaming
Enforcement, is stepping-up investigations
and targeting employee-devised schemes,
fraud and other illegal activities designed
to steal money from casino employers and
which impact the integrity of the casino
industry. "The Division of Criminal
Justice is committed to aggressively pursuing
casino-related crime by prosecuting anyone
who would attempt to manipulate the system
to illegally benefit from New Jersey's
casino industry," McKoy said.
"The
Division of Gaming Enforcement strictly
regulates all casino- related activities
and our oversight of casino employee behavior
is quite extensive. Activity of the sort
alleged in this indictment results not
only in criminal prosecution, but the
revocation of a valuable casino license
which allows employees to work in any
of the Atlantic City casinos," Director
Auriemma said.
According to Criminal Justice Director
McKoy, the Casino Prosecutions Bureau
obtained an Atlantic County Grand Jury
indictment which charged Carmelo Aponte,
Jr., 40, London Court, Egg Harbor Township,
Atlantic County, with attempted theft
by deception (3rd degree) and forgery
(4th degree). If convicted on all charges,
Aponte faces up to five years in state
prison and fines/penalties up to $15,000.
Aponte will be required to appear in Atlantic
County Superior court for arraignment.
The indictment was handed-up to Atlantic
County Superior Court Judge James E. Isman
on Dec. 3.
The indictment alleges that Aponte, formerly
employed as a floor person at the Taj
Mahal Hotel & Casino, devised an elaborate
scheme wherein he would fraudulently "rate"
certain gaming patrons by inflating the
amount and extent of gaming activities.
It is alleged that the scheme was designed
to increase the amount and value of "complimentary"
benefits earned by the rated players.
The indictment charges that as part of
the scheme, Aponte would also forge the
signature of the Floor Supervisor in order
to collect the "comps." The
investigation by the Division of Gaming
Enforcement determined that the gaming
patrons, identified in the indictment
as Dominic Milici, Joseph Difabritiis
and Mary Lou Acciavatti, may not have
been aware that they were being rated
at inflated levels and, in some instances,
may not have been present in the casino
during the rating process. The indictment
charges that Aponti collected nearly $800.00
in inflated "complimentary"
benefits as a result of the scam. Aponte
was arrested on June 18 by the Division
of Gaming Enforcement and subsequently
terminated from his employment at the
Taj Mahal.
McKoy and Auriemma noted that ongoing
investigations are targeting all forms
of employee scams and schemes which might
be in place at other Atlantic City casinos.
The investigation was conducted by New
Jersey State Police detectives assigned
to the Division of Gaming Enforcement
- Casino Intelligence Unit. Additional
investigative support was received from
the Taj Mahal Investigations Department.
Deputy Attorney General Kerry L. Menchen
of the Division of Criminal Justice -
Casino Prosecution Bureau presented the
case to the Atlantic County Grand Jury.
An indictment is merely an accusation.
The defendant is presumed innocent until
proven guilty in a court of law.
Additional information, including the
Atlantic County Grand Jury indictment,
is available by logging on to the Division
of Criminal Justice web page at www.njdcj.org.
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