Stop Press: On Arrest Of Sportingbet Chairman
Published: Friday, September 08, 2006 Online-Casinos.com
STOP PRESS: MORE ON ARREST OF SPORTINGBET CHAIRMAN
As we went to press this week the latest news on detained British businessman Peter Dicks was that he is to remain in detention.
Sportingbet's non-executive chairman appeared before Judge Robert Raciti in a state court in Kew Gardens, Queens, New York, for a hearing last (Thursday) night, fighting an order to extradite him to the state of Louisiana where a warrant for his arrest on undetailed charges has been issued. Additional arrest warrants have been issued in the case and remain sealed, a Louisiana police spokesman revealed, although he would not identify who the targets might be.
Dicks plans to seek bail today (Friday) while his lawyer Peter Neiman fights extradition.
"There are serious legal defences'' to the crime alleged, Neiman told the presiding judge, who said he didn't have authority to grant bail to a fugitive. Raciti set a date of September 14 to consider extradition. Neiman suggested bail of $50 000. Raciti, a magistrate, said bail would have to be considered today by a justice of the court.
"This is far from the ordinary case,'' said Neiman, a former U.S. prosecutor now with the Washington law firm of WilmerHale. ``He is not the type of person who would flee. This is not some mobster who has connections to the crime world. This is a highly reputable businessman from the United Kingdom.''
Unfortunately for Dicks it appeared that the judge had little discretion in the matter. The judge told Dicks that he did not have the power to grant bail to "a fugitive" and that the businessman, who had been travelling to the States to attend board meetings unrelated to online gambling, would have to remain in custody pending a bail hearing today.
A separate hearing has been set at New York City Criminal Court on September 14 to decide whether Mr Dicks should be extradited to Louisiana. A spokeswoman for the Louisiana state police said earlier that the state would seek to bring Dicks to the state to stand trial. She said other arrest warrants had been issued in connection with the case but did not reveal whether other gaming firms had been targeted.
Nieman said his client will contest extradition to Louisiana and emphasised that he will ask a New York Supreme Court justice on Friday to release his client on bail.
State authorities may find it difficult to pursue charges against Dicks, said attorney Lawrence Walters, a Florida lawyer who advises online casinos and poker rooms. Courts have ruled state law can't be applied to Internet transactions because such activity falls under the pre-empting Commerce Clause of the Constitution, Walters said.
