COLUMBUS, Ohio - (Business Wire) A retired senior Michigan State Police detective stated today that Issue 3 bankroller Dan Gilbert muscled his debtors, took cash payment and “did all the talking” in a police sting run on his “serious, organized bookmaking ring.” Then-Det. Lt. John Fiedler, serving as chief of the Michigan State Police Organized Crime Unit, went undercover as a threatened bettor’s father and wore a wire when he led a two-agency takedown of the Gilbert ring for conspiracy to violate Michigan gambling laws.
Today, Det. Lt. Fiedler is retired. He flew to Columbus Friday for a TruthPAC press conference to “set the record straight” on Gilbert’s bookmaking arrest.
“Mr. Gilbert was part of a serious, organized bookmaking ring that threatened some of its victims with violence,” Det. Lt. Fiedler said.
In a recent Cleveland City Club debate, Gilbert explained his arrest to the audience: “We had those, you know, those little card NFL cards that you play … and somebody walked into some policeman on the corner. [They] came in and they swept the dorms.” (City Club audio: http://bit.ly/3HaZdR - 3/4 mark; transcript: http://bit.ly/2Cc9VH)
According to Det. Lt. Fiedler, the arrest took place at a private home that housed the bookmaking ring, not the dorms. The undercover raid involved several officers from the East Lancing Police and the Michigan State Police Organized Crime Unit. Det. Lt. Fiedler uncovered detailed betting records with “several pages of the ledger book filled” – not NFL cards.
Gilbert has also told reporters “no money was ever exchanged, not a single dollar, not a penny.” (http://bit.ly/1bQiTA) But Det. Lt. Fiedler says Gilbert personally took payment of over $1,000 from him when he posed as the threatened bettor’s father.
“I paid him the money, signaled to the East Lansing Police, and they entered the house and arrested both men,” Det. Lt. Fiedler said.
When the Dayton Daily News confronted Gilbert with details in a State News story (http://bit.ly/1g3XLf) reported after the bookies were taken down in the inter-agency sting that discovered $114,000 at stake, he said, “That’s a lie … That’s just a lie.” He again characterized the bookmaking operation as a harmless “Wednesday night poker game.” (http://bit.ly/1Y4w7z)
In contrast, Det. Lt. Fiedler’s memory of the extensive ledger book indicates the $114,000 reported by several media organizations after the arrest is correct. And the retired organized crime buster said Gilbert himself threatened bettors.
“Gilbert had grabbed [a victim] and pushed him up against the wall, making threats that he had better pay up,” Det. Lt. Fiedler said. “Another police officer who worked on the case said one victim who did not pay had his car filled with manure and it contained a letter threatening bodily harm.”
“Based on my police experience in investigating crimes of this nature, I completely agree with concerns raised by the Ohio law enforcement community,” Det. Lt. Fiedler said today. “Casinos are the type of industry that demands tough, impartial and complete oversight.”
“Now we know: Dan Gilbert is clearly unfit to own or operate a casino just about anywhere,” TruthPAC spokesman Sandy Theis said. “We challenge Dan Gilbert to come clean about his bookmaking arrest. Voters also want to know if his Issue 3 partners knew the facts behind his arrest before they joined up with a former bookie.”
Watch a video preview of Fiedler's statement here: http://bit.ly/1lqXgl.
ABOUT TRUTHPAC
TruthPAC is a broad, bipartisan coalition opposed to Issue 3 – a proposed constitutional amendment to authorize four Las Vegas-style casinos in Ohio. Financed in part by Ohio's historic horse racing industry that will be destroyed by the Casino Plan, the committee works to counter exaggerated claims put forth by the out-of-state gambling interests bankrolling Issue 3.
Paid for by TruthPAC, Michael J. Johrendt, Treasurer, 250 E. Broad St., Columbus, OH 43215
Photos/Multimedia Gallery Available: http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/mmg.cgi?eid=6088422&lang=en
TruthPAC
Sandy Theis, 614-940-0131
Media@TruthPAC.org
