The Florida Gaming Control Commission said that they busted several illegal gambling operations in the state, including ones in Delray Beach and Fort Pierce. Seven people were arrested, and three of them were from Palm Beach County.
All of them are being charged with racketeering, racketeering conspiracy, money laundering (up to $100,000), money laundering conspiracy, keeping a gambling house, being an agent or employee of a gambling house, and illegally making, selling, or having coin-operated devices.
The raids were done at the Players Paradise Arcade at 4900 Linton Blvd. in Delray Beach, the Midway Arcade at 4986 25th St. in Fort Pierce, the Lucky Game Lounge in Tampa, and an unknown location in St. Petersburg.
Officials said that during the search, more than $1 million worth of property, cash, slot machines, computers, and ATMs were seized.
Leonid Barmak, 57, of Jupiter, was arrested and given a bond of $144,000, which included $1,000 for each of the 42 slot machines. He was then let out of the Palm Beach County Jail.
Alexandre Barmak, his twin brother from Hutchinson Island, was arrested on a Palm Beach County warrant for having 41 illegal slot machines and stayed in the St. Lucie County Jail on Wednesday without bail.
Yuliya Sobolevska, Leonid Barnik’s wife, is 42 years old. She was taken along with Alexander Freidman, 62, and Anna Friedman, 58, both of Sunny Isles; Leo J. Kutin, 37, of Reisterstown, Md.; and Peter Brover, 64, of St. Petersburg.
On the website for the Palm Beach County Clerk’s Office, a 66-page arrest record for Leonid Barmik contained the information.
Eric Carr, a spokesman for the commission, told WPTV that the attorney general’s office will tell the public about the charges.
360 slot machines were taken from arcades across the state. 120 of them were in Delray Beach and 93 were in Fort Pierce.
The state gaming commission said they got a report about the Midway Arcade, so on January 27, they sent a warning letter about Florida’s casino rules.
Lou Trombetta, the executive director of the FGCC, said in a statement, “Illegal gambling establishments operate outside of the legal, regulated market to take advantage of Floridians who are weak.”
“They are often linked to organized crime, don’t pay taxes to the state, and don’t offer the same protections or safeguards for customers as legal gaming operators.”
