BROOKSVILLE - Strapped for cash to repay a gambling debt, a Hernando County man decided to go see Garlic Ray.
From all outward appearances, 70-year-old Raymond Krisa seemed a
regular guy, a retired New York transplant living on Social Security on
Spanish Oak Drive in Spring Hill.
But the borrower soon was paying more than $800 per week in
interest, or "juice," on his initial $5,000 loan and subsequent loans.
"That was when he knew he was in over his head," Deputy Donna
Black, spokeswoman for the Hernando County Sheriff's Office said
Tuesday.
In desperation, the unidentified borrower went to authorities for
help, setting off a six-month federal and state investigation,
"Operation Stingray," that led to breakup of a loan sharking and
bookmaking ring.
Krisa had been issuing loans since 1988 and sustained his business
on his "wise guy" reputation and a steady supply of debtors, mostly
gamblers, investigators say. Krisa issued loans of as much as $250,000,
they say.
In recorded conversations, Krisa used slang terms associated with
organized crime during the 1950s and '60s and threatened bodily harm if
payments were not met.
"If you heard his voice, he sounded like someone out of the
Godfather-era," Hernando County Sheriff Richard Nugent said. "He
sounded like The Sopranos."
Through the use of telephone surveillance and other devices,
investigators also learned that Gerald Previti, 64, was conducting a
major bookmaking operation, taking bets by telephone from across
Florida and out of state.
Authorities on Tuesday announced the Dec. 14 arrests of Previti and
Krisa as part of an investigation that uncovered an old-school crime
enterprise.
"People like Previti and Krisa prey on people's addiction to
gambling," Nugent said. "They were out there to bleed them dry and they
did not care what it did to families."
Although investigators think Krisa and Previti were involved in
similar ventures in New York and Maryland, they have no indication that
the men were tied to the mob.
In 1980, Previti was arrested in a gambling raid at a Baltimore
County cocktail lounge. State attorneys later decided not to prosecute
after Previti was convicted on federal charges in an unrelated case.
Details of that charge were not available Tuesday.
Previti was released from a penitentiary in January 1981, according to the Federal Bureau of Prisons.
The investigation began when the unidentified victim came forward
in June and reported to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement that
he owed a substantial amount of money and was ensnared in a loan
sharking scheme.
From the start, Krisa was the target of the investigation, which
included the U.S. Customs Service agents and the FBI. Investigators
conducted surveillance on Krisa's home at 8072 Spanish Oak Drive and
used $10,000 in marked bills to track his lucrative business.
They later discovered that the operation worked on a point system
based on how much was borrowed and whether Krisa was acquainted with
the debtor. Krisa assigned a higher number, and higher interest, to
borrowers he didn't know, investigators said.
To make good on a loan, a borrower repaid the entire amount he
borrowed plus one week of "juice," a slang term for weekly interest
charges.
For example, a person who received a $10,000 loan at 3 points paid $300 per week.
"Not a nickel went to repaying the debt," Nugent said.
If they didn't pay, Krisa implied threats to a borrower's family, such as "letting the dogs loose," Nugent said.
With roughly 25 victims, one a well-known business, authorities
think that the loan sharking ring netted between $700,000 and $800,000
per year.
As the case against Krisa developed, investigators identified Previti, who they say was receiving professional bets.
Investigators learned that the men not only shared an interest in
gambling but also clients. Wiretaps documented Krisa placing bets with
Previti, and even referring some of his borrowers to him.
From his De Carlo Avenue home and a Portillo Road apartment, which
doubled as an office, Previti received in-state and out-of-state bets
from an 800-number. Officials said the apartment was used as a betting
parlor and was the center of the bookmaking operation, where more than
100 people placed bets on professional football, baseball and college
athletics.
"They bet on obscure games," Nugent said. "If there was a game on, they would bet on it."
Deputy Black said that Previti pocketed 10 percent of each bet. She
could not say how much money Previti brought in because he took bets
ranging from $50 to $2,500.
The gambling conversations were recorded on an answering machine, the most advanced part of the operation.
"He was sort of an old-time bookie," Nugent said. "Everything was on paper."
In December, search warrants were executed on Krisa's and Previti's
homes and three safe deposit boxes, resulting in the seizure of three
vehicles, a boat named Rose Marie and $580,348 in cash.
On Monday, both were indicted in federal court in Tampa: Krisa on
loan sharking charges and Previti on betting and wagering charges. They
were being held at an undisclosed federal facility on $200,000 bail.
Officials are asking those who owe loan sharking debts to come
forward. Black said they will be treated as victims and will not be
prosecuted.
The Times
