Florida politics blog: The Buzz | Tampa Bay Times

"As attorney General Pam Bondi on Thursday stood by her claim that drug dealers use casinos to launder their money, a prosecutor and special agent described the practice as common – but not the casino’s fault.

“Of the hundreds of drug trafficking cases that I’ve seen, there’s a definite correlation,’’ said Darrell Dirks, an assistant state attorney in Hillsborough County where Bondi previously worked."

One of the last drug laundering cases In Hillsborough county involved the Seminole Hard Rock in Tampa.

source: Florida politics blog: The Buzz | Tampa Bay Times

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Another Mini-Madoff sentenced to 20 years for financial fraud

www.chinaview.cn 2009-07-14 10:31:04

NEW YORK, July 13 (Xinhua) -- A New York lawyer was sentenced to 20 years in prison Monday for financial fraud, following arch swindler Bernard Madoff's imprisonment of 150 years last month.

Marc Dreier, a lawyer in Manhattan, admitted he had stole more than 46 million dollars from hedge funds by selling them fake promissory notes.

Dreier's lawyers asked the court to sentence him only 10 years in prison, however, Dreier was assumed to be sentenced to as long as 145 years in jail. His judge Jed Rakoff sentenced him 20 years in prison, which was obviously much shorter than expected.

Dreier, 59, graduated from Yale University and Harvard Law School, and then became a lawyer in Manhattan. On May 11, 2009, he pledged guilty to eight charges including money laundering, securities fraud and wire fraud.

Dreier reportedly spent a huge amount of money to maintain his luxury lifestyle. He had an ocean view luxury apartment on the Upper East Side New York. He also has several expensive cars and a 18-million-dollar yacht. His office had a large number of art collections including Picasso and Warhol's works. The estimate value of his collections was 40 million dollars.

Editor: Zhang Xiang

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-07/14/content_11705608.htm

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