New Berlin man charged as sports bookie
A 60-year-old New Berlin man who police say moved more than $587,000 through his bank account while reporting no income since 2012 has been charged with running a sports betting operation.
Steve Itsines faces a single count of receiving a commercial gambling bet, a felony punishable by up to 18 months in prison. He is scheduled to make his initial appearance in Waukesha County Circuit Court on Oct. 17.
Itsines was "well known to the FBI's organized crime division but (its) case was suspended due to Federal statutory requirements on the amount of money involved," the state charges indicate. The state prosecution comes more than a year after police seized nearly $80,000 from secret compartments at the man's house.
According to the criminal complaint:
Agents investigating possible drug dealing by Itsines' son served a search warrant at Itsines' home in the 6000 block of S. Conservancy Drive in January 2015. They found bank documents and various notes and ledgers that appeared to be records of wagers by bettors. The number of weekly bettors ranged from 18 to 35.
Detectives also found $29,600 cash in a hidden compartment of a dresser in the master bedroom and $50,000 in a hidden compartment of an entertainment system in the living room.
They also seized Itsines' phone and later found more than 4,000 texts related to gambling.
In May last year, Itsines and an unnamed attorney met with investigators. Itsines admitted he'd been a bookie for about seven or eight years and said the most anyone ever owed him was $40,000, which he was collecting at a rate of $500 a month. His busiest months were football season, he said, when bettors gambled on both college and professional games.
In August last year, Itsines and his attorney told investigators that Itsines could prove some of the seized $80,000 was legitimate. They submitted affidavits from two men who said they had loaned $35,000 to Itsines. But when police checked with the men who signed the affidavits, neither vouched for the veracity of the statements.
Itsines, an owner of the Baymont Inn in Grafton, filed for protection from creditors in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in 2013 and was granted a Chapter 7 discharge in 2014, leaving behind more than $1 million in unpaid debts.
