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Gambling Probe of Former Baseball Player Nets More Charges5 July 2002OHIO – As reported by the Ohio Beacon Journal: "Fallout from the investigation into the gambling habits of former Cleveland Indians bad boy Albert Belle has resulted in charges against eight more men, and two of them are from Stow, including the son of a man already convicted in the controversy. "None of the eight had any direct connection with Belle. "…According to authorities, the two Stow men and five other alleged Cleveland-area bookmakers were charged with running an illegal gambling business that took in hundreds of thousands of dollars annually for at least five years. "Piscura is the son of 53-year-old Duane Piscura, of Stow, who pleaded guilty to gambling charges last year. "…The discovery of the gambling operation can be traced to an unrelated civil suit filed by a teen-ager who claimed Belle -- who at that time was the Cleveland Indians' top hitter -- had chased him and bumped him with his car in an angry episode following a Halloween egg-throwing incident at Belle's Euclid condo. "…Subsequently, in a 1997 deposition during the civil suit, Belle admitted that he had lost up to $40,000 gambling on sports events that he said were other than baseball. "…But in the federal gambling investigation that ensued, a former Canton man and a Garfield Heights man pleaded guilty for failing to report taxable income on what they said were friendly bets on sporting events made with Belle -- friendly bets that totaled some $366,755. "…In February 2000, three more bookmakers were charged, including Duane Piscura -- all of whom pleaded guilty to reduced charges, [Assistant U.S. Attorney James V. Moroney] said. "Belle, however, was never charged with a gambling offense and in the meantime signed a $55 million contract with the Chicago White Sox and later a $65 million contract with Baltimore…" |