The Secret Life Of A Bookie

Not All the Big Bets Are on Wall Street

Marvin R. Shanken
From the Print Edition:
James Woods, May/Jun 97

(continued from page 11)

CA: So what happens? You're in your office or wherever you are, what happens?

Pete: You're in your office, you're taking business, and all of a sudden the door comes down.

CA: The door comes down? There's not a knock on the door?

Pete: Actually now, we leave the door open. We're tired of repairing them.

CA: They don't try to open the door first?

Pete: No, they smash it, they come with a battering ram and they smash everything down. They have the place surrounded, so you know, you really can't escape. I mean you try, you jump out the window, you try everything, because once you're outside the building, they have a tough case against you. Bookmaking is very, very tough to prove, if you don't actually have somebody giving you money to take a bet. And they know that. I think around the political years they make most of the arrests.

CA: And so they arrested you?

Pete: Oh, yes.

CA: And they arrested the people that worked for you.

Pete: Absolutely.

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