Two charged in illegal gambling operation

By Erik Sanzenbach
St. Tammany News
Published on Sunday, April 11, 2010 12:19 AM CDT

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Two men, one from Mandeville and another from Covington, were charged with four other men Wednesday with operating an illegal gambling operation according to U.S. Attorney Jim Letten.

According to the bill of indictment, David Theriot, 45, of Covington and David Carazo, 40, of Mandeville, were the alleged money couriers for an online gambling ring based in Costa Rica. Jefferson Parish residents, Ashley Perry, 33, Shane Muscarello, 37, William Bryant III, 39, and Craig Goodwin, 49 were also charged.

The investigation into the operation which specialized in taking bets on sporting events, actually started back in 2004 when detectives with the Louisiana State Police started an investigation into Trooper Warren Ayo Jr., whom they found was running a gambling operation from his work computer. Their investigation showed that Ayo was working for a larger operation.

The case was turned over to federal authorities, and after two years of investigation, the IRS, LSP, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, were able to press charges against the six men for operating an illegal gambling business. Letten said federal authorities are still investigating and that this case is related to another ongoing investigation in Queens, N.Y., in which the Queens District Attorney indicted 49 people for illegal off-shore gambling.

According to the bill of indictment, Theriot and Carazo were couriers, and would collect from losing bettors or give money to those that won bets.

Letten said that if convicted, all six men each could face five years in jail and a fine of $250,000.

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