A FORMER BATTALION CHIEF FROM THE South San Francisco (California) Fire Department was arraigned in court yesterday on felony bookmaking and conspiracy charges. James Anthony Selvitella Jr., 52, was arrested and charged along with four accomplices on the gambling charges in a case that has been under investigation for nearly three years.
Selvitella was fired from his FD job 30 months ago after he was caught running his bookmaking and betting ring out of his FD car and using department phones and fire stations to conduct his business. The San Mateo Daily Journal tells that, according to prosecutors, Selvitella and the others had been operating since 2006 but were part of a larger betting outfit. Selvitella allegedly took bets from fellow firefighters and other gamblers using his work phone to access a 1-800 number established for the job. He is also alleged to have used city computers in the operation which involved hundreds of thousands of dollars every day. All the defendants took money back and forth, acting as “bagmen,” according to the District Attorney’s Office.
Salvitella’s illicit activity first came to the SSF fire department’s attention when a firefighter tipped the chief’s office that one of the firefighters had become indebted to Selvitella by $30,000. The San Mateo County Times also reports:
James Selvitella was arraigned Friday along with four alleged accomplices on charges they ran an illegal sports wagering operation out of a San Francisco apartment and a South San Francisco fire station that handled hundreds of thousands of dollars in bets daily, said Chief Deputy District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe. “What we have is a public facility being used to house an illicit conspiracy,” Wagstaffe said. “This isn’t just a gambling case, it’s a corruption case.”
Selvitella, who also owns Petaluma-based sports bar Beyond the Glory, solicited wagers from his fellow firefighters and would collect the cash from and drop off the winnings to gamblers, Wagstaffe said. He would use his battalion chief’s phone — on average nearly three times a shift — to call in the bets, according to court records. He also used city computers to research bets and follow games, and to track wagers.
Authorities believe Selvitella and the other men were part of a larger national sports wagering syndicate and that the local operation has been taking bets since about 2006.
City officials talked to the gambling firefighter and he confirmed what was happening. Not long after that, the South San Francisco police began investigating and later the California Department of Justice got involved, court records show.
Police quickly realized fire department phones had been used hundreds of times to call a toll-free number that investigators later realized was how Selvitella was making the wagers, according to court records.
Salvitella was fired in February 2008, but his dismissal has been challenged in court and has been working its way up the appeals levels while being upheld at every hearing. All five men are due back in court on August 26 to enter their pleas.
Also on FireGeezer…
- You Can Bet On This – November 21, 2010
