2 plead guilty in illegal sports gambling ring in metro Detroit
BY BEN SCHMITT
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER
An attorney from Grosse Pointe Park and another man pleaded guilty in federal court today to running an illegal sports gambling ring in metro Detroit.
The attorney John Stephen Shelly, 49, and associate David Stronski, 55, also of Grosse Pointe Park, were involved in a multi-state organization that generated hundreds of thousands of dollars in profits, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Court documents indicated the organization made as much as $25,000 a week from illegal betting activities.
The gambling ran out of Shelly’s law office in St. Clair Shores and bars in Detroit and Dearborn. Federal investigators recently seized more than $250,000 during search warrants in Michigan and Florida they expect to obtain more property as part of the investigation.
Detroit FBI Special Agent in Charge Andrew Arena said today, “Illegal gambling is by no means a victimless crime. The FBI, with the cooperation of our law enforcement partners, is committed to aggressively investigate illegal sports betting and illegal criminal enterprises.”
Shelly and Stronski will be sentenced June 23 by U.S. District Judge John O’Meara in Ann Arbor.
The FBI, Michigan State and Dearborn Heights police departments investigated the gambling ring.
