MURRIETA: Murrieta man arrested in online bookmaking case

State agent says man charged a 10 percent 'vigorish' commission on lost bets

By JOHN HALL - Staff Writer | Monday, April 21, 2008 8:06 PM PDT ∞

MURRIETA ---- A Murrieta man has been arrested following a monthslong investigation into an allegedly illegal online bookmaking operation.

William Louis Matteo, 49, was arrested Friday night, three days after Riverside County prosecutors filed a criminal complaint against him, according to court and jail records.

Matteo voluntarily turned himself in to officers at the Murrieta Police Department about 8 p.m. Friday after learning that state agents had a warrant for his arrest, police Lt. Dennis Vrooman said Monday.

The investigation by the state's Bureau of Gambling Control started in February after agents were called by an informant reporting the possible illegal operation, according to a Riverside County Superior Court document.

It appears it wasn't Matteo's first venture into illegal gambling.

"It is my understanding that he was on federal probation for a gambling crime in another state," said Frank Herbert, special agent in charge of the bureau's Southern California offices.

Agents have information that Matteo may have been involved in bookmaking for as long as a dozen years and, Herbert said, they can substantiate his alleged involvement for at least seven years.

Herbert was unable to quantify just how much money Matteo may have profited from this most recent alleged operation, saying agents are still sifting through documents they seized when he was arrested.

"I can say he seemed to be doing well without having any other gainful employment," Herbert said.

"This seems to have been a localized, small operation," Herbert said.

As with many online bookmaking ventures, not just anyone could go online and start placing bets on sporting events.

"Somebody has to introduce you to it and then gives you a sign-on and password," Herbert said.

The informant told a special agent with the California Department of Justice that he met Matteo in September at a networking meeting for people involved in financial markets, the court document states.

Matteo invited the man to dinner at his home to discuss potential investments in his real estate project, Special Agent Steve Epperson wrote in his declaration requesting that a warrant be issued for Matteo's arrest.

The man went to Matteo's home at which time Matteo said he owned an online sports book Web site, then showed him the site, www.hammerthebook.com, on a computer, the document states.

The Web site was still online Monday afternoon, however, a customer ID and password were required to access anything other than the home page.

During the meeting at Matteo's home last year, Epperson said, Matteo signed onto the site and showed the informant his online sports betting clientele list of 50 to 60 customers.

The man told the agent that Matteo "bragged that he had approximately 200 online sports betting customers that wager via his online webpage," the document states.

Matteo also told the man that the Web site was "extremely profitable," bringing in about $100,000 a week from customers' wagers, Epperson wrote.

According to the informant, Matteo told him he has "a couple of 'guys' who collect delinquent bets from customers who fail to pay in a timely manner," the document states.

The man said he noticed several customers on the clientele list who had either positive or negative balances of more than $20,000, Epperson wrote.

Matteo asked the man if he would invest money into the sports betting operation, telling him he wanted to recruit bettors who would make large wagers, but needed capital to cover the bets, according to the document.

Matteo told the man he would pay him 10 percent of his total investment each month and the man agreed to invest, giving Matteo $10,000 in November and another $10,000 in December, Epperson said.

The informant also told Epperson he placed bets on the site, adding that Matteo would charge what is called a "vigorish."

Epperson wrote that bookmakers make their illegal income from the "vigorish," a 10 percent commission on a wager.

"That's the profit side of bookmaking," Herbert said.

In March, Epperson wrote, he and another special agent met with the informant, asking him to show them on his home computer how he accessed Matteo's Web site. The man did so and then placed bets at the agents' direction on two "March Madness" college basketball games.

The bets were accepted and the man received confirmation numbers and a message that he was risking $220 to win $200 on each bet, appearing to incorporate the "vigorish" commission into the wagers, Epperson wrote.

After his arrest, Matteo was booked at Robert Presley Detention Center in Riverside on one felony count of bookmaking, jail records state. He was being held in lieu of $500,000 bail Monday night.

Matteo is scheduled to be arraigned at Southwest Justice Center on Wednesday.

Contact staff writer John Hall at (951) 676-4315, Ext. 2628, or jhall@californian.com.