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Fair Gambling ring tied to RVC
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The Park Avenue Deli, at 149 N. Park Ave., which is under new ownership and now called the North Park Deli and Grocery, ran numbers illegally out of its storefront, on the northernmost commercial strip of the avenue, police said. It was just one of 11 locations where gambling allegedly took place - along with delis and bodegas in Freeport and a house in Copiague - but the only location in Rockville Centre. The entire operation netted $65,000 a day according to police.
On May 31, after a 14-month investigation, the Nassau County Narcotics and Vice Bureau arrested 10 men and two women in connection with the operation. A Rockville Centre resident, Cristobal Lopez, 48, of 15 Merriam Court, was among those arrested and charged with first-degree promoting gambling.
Lopez, an activist in the Latino community who served on the board of directors of Nassau County's Coordinated Agency for Spanish Americans, has decided, since his arrest, to take a leave of absence, according to Joe Calderone, a county spokesman. Lopez is also a former president of the Freeport Neighborhood Association.
According to Lopez's son, who works at the deli but did not want his name published, his father worked at the deli as well, but only for a few weeks, coming in with the new management. The son, who said he was shocked and surprised by the arrest, said his father was arrested by mistake. "The investigation has been going on for a while," he said. "[The police department's] information is not up to date. There have been quite a few owners since they first started."
However, according to Margarita Grasing, president of the Hispanic Brotherhood of Rockville Centre, Lopez was not just a deli employee, but its new owner. Grasing said that if the accusation that Lopez was involved in the illegal operation is true, it was "a stupid, stupid thing to do."
"It's sad for us," she said. "He's a wonderful person and a good human being."
David Nouvini of Nouvini Inc. in Hicksville, which owns the property where the deli owner rents space, did not return calls for comment.
The others arrested included Sergio Suriel, 55, Xavier Suriel, 18, Ambiorix Gonzalez, 27, Juan Carlos Alvarez, 27, Lora Cristino Zapata, 45, Pedro A. Galvin, 56, Jose Ramirez, 44, and Jose Gonzalez, 45, all of Freeport, as well as Jose L. Lopoz, 38, of Copiague, Miriam Collado, 25, of Oceanside, and Jose Paulino, 38, of Brentwood.
"Infiltrating the ring was difficult," said Capt. Steven Skrynecki of the Nassau County Narcotics and Vice Bureau. "It took quite a bit of effort. It's well protected." He added that this was a unique police probe, in that the assistance of 11 different agencies was needed to crack the case, including the Rockville Centre, Freeport and Lynbrook police departments, the Internal Revenue Service and Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
The numbers game the operation was running was an offshoot of the Dominican Republic's lottery system, Skrynecki said. The lottery, which is prevalent in Hispanic neighborhoods, is similar to the New York state lottery. Participants place bets on specific numbers, and if they choose a winning number, they win money. In this case, they used the winning numbers from the Dominican Republic lottery. Players could check on-line to see which numbers were winners.
The ring was first detected when a police officer noticed gambling records while responding to a domestic dispute at 51 Harding Place, the home of Sergio Suriel, the alleged mastermind of the operation.
Most of the North Park Deli's neighboring business owners were surprised to learn that a gambling ring was allegedly operating in Rockville Centre. The owner of Rave French Cleaners, at 135 N. Park Ave., who declined to give his name, said that he never goes into the deli, and had no idea what was reportedly going on inside. "They sell candy in there," said a Rave employee. "The kids go in there for candy!"
An employee of RVC Kitchen, across the street from the deli, said he had no clue what was going on. "I don't know what it's about," he said. "I'm so busy in the shop here that I have no time to see what's going on over there."
Justin Lawless, a Rockville Centre resident, was shocked when he found out about Lopez's arrest. He said that the new owners took over the deli approximately two months ago, and that they "are really, really nice" and "good guys." Before they came in, Lawless said, "there were always guys in there. [The deli] stayed open until 11:30 [p.m.] They used to have between 15 and 20 guys hanging out in there at night. Now there are only a couple."
Samuel Kim, owner of Sam's North Park Delicatessen at 141 N. Park Ave., said he was worried that customers might confuse the two delis. "Someone called me up asking about the gambling," he said. "That's not good. I'm worried it might affect my business."
Kim also said that area residents have come to him in the past saying they were scared to walk down that stretch of Park Avenue after 7 p.m. because there were so many men hanging around the North Park Deli. Still, he was surprised by Lopez's arrest. "It's amazing to hear that [there is gambling] on our block," he said. "This is such a nice neighborhood."
On May 31, after a 14-month investigation, the Nassau County Narcotics and Vice Bureau arrested 10 men and two women in connection with the operation. A Rockville Centre resident, Cristobal Lopez, 48, of 15 Merriam Court, was among those arrested and charged with first-degree promoting gambling.
Lopez, an activist in the Latino community who served on the board of directors of Nassau County's Coordinated Agency for Spanish Americans, has decided, since his arrest, to take a leave of absence, according to Joe Calderone, a county spokesman. Lopez is also a former president of the Freeport Neighborhood Association.
According to Lopez's son, who works at the deli but did not want his name published, his father worked at the deli as well, but only for a few weeks, coming in with the new management. The son, who said he was shocked and surprised by the arrest, said his father was arrested by mistake. "The investigation has been going on for a while," he said. "[The police department's] information is not up to date. There have been quite a few owners since they first started."
However, according to Margarita Grasing, president of the Hispanic Brotherhood of Rockville Centre, Lopez was not just a deli employee, but its new owner. Grasing said that if the accusation that Lopez was involved in the illegal operation is true, it was "a stupid, stupid thing to do."
David Nouvini of Nouvini Inc. in Hicksville, which owns the property where the deli owner rents space, did not return calls for comment.
The others arrested included Sergio Suriel, 55, Xavier Suriel, 18, Ambiorix Gonzalez, 27, Juan Carlos Alvarez, 27, Lora Cristino Zapata, 45, Pedro A. Galvin, 56, Jose Ramirez, 44, and Jose Gonzalez, 45, all of Freeport, as well as Jose L. Lopoz, 38, of Copiague, Miriam Collado, 25, of Oceanside, and Jose Paulino, 38, of Brentwood.
"Infiltrating the ring was difficult," said Capt. Steven Skrynecki of the Nassau County Narcotics and Vice Bureau. "It took quite a bit of effort. It's well protected." He added that this was a unique police probe, in that the assistance of 11 different agencies was needed to crack the case, including the Rockville Centre, Freeport and Lynbrook police departments, the Internal Revenue Service and Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
The numbers game the operation was running was an offshoot of the Dominican Republic's lottery system, Skrynecki said. The lottery, which is prevalent in Hispanic neighborhoods, is similar to the New York state lottery. Participants place bets on specific numbers, and if they choose a winning number, they win money. In this case, they used the winning numbers from the Dominican Republic lottery. Players could check on-line to see which numbers were winners.
The ring was first detected when a police officer noticed gambling records while responding to a domestic dispute at 51 Harding Place, the home of Sergio Suriel, the alleged mastermind of the operation.
Most of the North Park Deli's neighboring business owners were surprised to learn that a gambling ring was allegedly operating in Rockville Centre. The owner of Rave French Cleaners, at 135 N. Park Ave., who declined to give his name, said that he never goes into the deli, and had no idea what was reportedly going on inside. "They sell candy in there," said a Rave employee. "The kids go in there for candy!"
An employee of RVC Kitchen, across the street from the deli, said he had no clue what was going on. "I don't know what it's about," he said. "I'm so busy in the shop here that I have no time to see what's going on over there."
Justin Lawless, a Rockville Centre resident, was shocked when he found out about Lopez's arrest. He said that the new owners took over the deli approximately two months ago, and that they "are really, really nice" and "good guys." Before they came in, Lawless said, "there were always guys in there. [The deli] stayed open until 11:30 [p.m.] They used to have between 15 and 20 guys hanging out in there at night. Now there are only a couple."
Samuel Kim, owner of Sam's North Park Delicatessen at 141 N. Park Ave., said he was worried that customers might confuse the two delis. "Someone called me up asking about the gambling," he said. "That's not good. I'm worried it might affect my business."
Kim also said that area residents have come to him in the past saying they were scared to walk down that stretch of Park Avenue after 7 p.m. because there were so many men hanging around the North Park Deli. Still, he was surprised by Lopez's arrest. "It's amazing to hear that [there is gambling] on our block," he said. "This is such a nice neighborhood."
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