A couple has plead guilty to stealing a million bucks–then blowing it on slots in Atlantic City. From Newsday:
A couple has admitted that they went on a million-dollar Atlantic City gambling spree with money the woman had stolen from her employer.
New Jersey prosecutors say Jamine Alabre faces about six years in state prison, while boyfriend Mathurin Ambroise faces about three years.
Both pleaded guilty Monday to a charge of receiving stolen property.
The 28-year-old woman from Westbury, N.Y., admits she stole $1 million from her former employer, Ipsos, a Long Island marketing firm. Ambroise is 34 and lives in St. Albans, N.Y.
Prosecutors say the couple tried to launder the money from January to October 2005 by pumping much of it into Atlantic City slots, mainly high-limit machines at the Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa. Casino personnel notified state police.
I can’t say I’m an authority on money-laundering, but I don’t think that’s how its supposed to work.
Second, I’d like to know exactly how exactly “casino personnel” knew to notify “state police” that the pair was going for broke in the high-limit area. Was there already a police advisory for them, or was it just a case of behavioral profiling. Or did the couple actually say, “Hey, we’re trying to launder $1 million in stolen cash. Wanna help?”
With all of these questions, I can see why this was a five-graph story in an out-of-town paper. These aren’t exactly the stories that you want circulating about your property, are they?
Of course, the real crime would have been if they’d have blown the $1 million at the Sands.