A federal criminal investigation into an alleged drug smuggling and illegal gambling ring resulted in the arrest of nearly two dozen suspects last week, including the co-owner of a popular Hermosa Beach bar.
On Tuesday at the San Diego federal courthouse, Hermosa resident and Waterman’s co-owner Jeff Bellandi pleaded not guilty to illegal gambling business and money laundering conspiracy charges. Bellandi is accused of working as a bookie for a sports betting group headed by Owen Hanson, a Redondo Union High School alumnus and former football and volleyball player at USC.
If convicted on both counts, Bellandi could face up to 25 years in prison.
David Paquin, a Manhattan Beach attorney representing Bellandi in the matter, described the charges as inflated and inaccurate.
“It’s almost funny, because the guy has never gambled a day in his life,” Paquin said.
Bellandi and 18 other defendants were arrested Jan. 27 as part of an investigation into what the Justice Department describes as a criminal enterprise headed by Hanson, who was arrested in September on a Carlsbad golf course. According to the indictment in the case, stateside bettors routed their wagers through a server based in Peru, and were threatened with violence by Hanson associates, including a Los Angeles private investigator, if they did not pay up.
The indictment also alleges that Hanson and others conspired to bring hundreds of kilos of cocaine into the United States, Australia and other countries throughout the world.
According to Kelly Thornton, director of media relations for the U.S. attorney’s office in San Diego, eight defendants could face life sentences for narcotics and racketeering charges.
Bellandi is not facing drug charges. The money laundering conspiracy charges stem from accusations that Bellandi and others conspired to hide the proceeds of Hanson’s operations.
The language of the relevant federal statute requires proof that a defendant knew the money involved in financial transactions “represented the proceeds of some form of illegal activity.”
Proving that Bellandi knew this will be a critical weakness in the government’s case, Paquin said.
“His involvement in all this, if any, was so minor that they really don’t have a triable case” on the money laundering charge, Paquin said.
Bellandi was released on bail, and is due back in court in San Diego for pre-trial April 29.
