By The Huffington Post News Editors
Though that headline may read like it was ripped from the script of a premium cable drama about the entertainment industry’s seedy underbelly, Bryan Zuriff, an executive producer on Showtime’s Hollywood fixer drama “Ray Donovan,” really did plead guilty to running an illegal gambling ring with connections to the Russian mob.
On Friday at the Manhattan Federal Court, Zuriff admitted to running an illegal online gambling ring’s LA sportsbook and having some involvement in the outfit’s New York operations, the New York Post reports.
U.S. attorney Preet Bharara said in a statement that Zuriff is facing up to five years in prison and has agreed to turn over $500,000 as part of a plea deal. “Bryan Zuriff spanned the coasts with his crimes, by operating his own illegal gambling enterprise in Los Angeles, and helping to operate a vast illegal gambling enterprise in New York,” Bharara said. “With his plea, he becomes the first defendant, but not the last, to be convicted in this sprawling script of criminal conduct.”
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Huffington Post