EDMOND —
The widower of a woman found beaten to death in her Edmond-area home in 2010 has been charged along with several other men in an illegal gambling and money laundering operation.
An 81-count federal indictment unsealed Monday charges 10 defendants with crimes involving an illegal gambling operation and related money laundering, U.S. Attorney Sanford C. Coats announced.
The defendants charged in this indictment are: Teddy Dryden Mitchell, 57, of Oklahoma City, Dryden Ryley Mitchell, 32, of Oklahoma City, Billy Nick Mitchell, 22, of Oklahoma City, David Bruce Loveland, 64, of Oklahoma City, Jerry Wayne Gilchrist, aka “Best Buy Jerry,” 34, of Oklahoma City, Michael Lee McCullah, 35, of Ardmore, Justin Edward Musgrove, 39, of Midwest City, Richard Allen Hancock, 67, of Yorba Linda, Calif., Gary John Gibb, of Reno, Nev., and Gortation Management, S.A., a Costa Rican corporation.
The public is reminded that an indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. The defendants are presumed innocent and are entitled to a fair trial, at which the government must prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Teddy Mitchell was the husband of Julie Mitchell. Her badly-beaten body was found in her Edmond-area home on Nov. 2, 2010, police said. The homicide was investigated by the 13th Oklahoma Multicounty Grand Jury. In its final report, filed in Oklahoma County District Court in August, the grand jurors stated the case remains unsolved.
Mitchell’s attorneys maintain that he is a legitimate professional gambler. Defense counsel was not listed for the other defendants in indictment-related paperwork.
According to the indictment the defendants were members of an alleged illegal gambling business operating “high stakes” poker games from a home at 640 N.W. 150th St., in Oklahoma City. The home is also listed as having an Edmond address in court papers.
The indictment alleges that the operation took bets and wagers on sporting events on behalf of betting clients, used an illegal Internet gambling website in interstate and foreign commerce for the benefit of betting clients, laundered the proceeds of illegal gambling activities and committed various crimes related to the illegal gambling business including interstate travel in aid of racketeering and use of a wire communication facility to transmit betting information.
It specifically alleges that Teddy Mitchell organized poker games at the residence where professionals from local casinos, associates and family members acted in various roles such as dealers, bankers or greeters, operating both “low stakes” and “high stakes” poker tables.
It is alleged that in order to generate income from at least 400 hands of poker played each week Mitchell and co-conspirators took a “rake,” a percentage commission from the amount of money bet for each hand of poker dealt.
It is alleged that Teddy Mitchell also operated as a traditional bookmaker by taking sports bets for clients both in person and over the phone.
Later, it is alleged, Teddy and Dryden Mitchell provided their betting clients a password to access a Costa Rican sports betting Internet website owned by Gortation Management, which operates as a “clearing house” for “bookies” throughout the U.S..
Teddy and Dryden Mitchell are alleged to have recruited, enlisted and managed sports betting clients on behalf of Gortation Management and provided a percentage of the money collected from their Internet sports betting clients to Gortation Management.
It is alleged that to further their gambling operation, defendants Teddy Mitchell, Dryden Mitchell, Loveland, Hancock, Gibb and Gortation Management conspired to launder more than $8.1 million in money derived from the gambling operation.
Hancock is alleged to have received numerous checks payable to Gortation Management from American clients who lost bets, including Teddy Mitchell’s clients, and used California check cashing facilities to cash these checks.
Gibb is alleged to have acted as a “bookie” with signature authority on domestic financial accounts relating to Gortation Management. It is further alleged that Gibb received numerous checks for gambling losses of betting clients payable to Gortation Management and deposited into his accounts.
In addition, Teddy Mitchell owned and operated various companies, whose bank accounts were used to launder money generated from illegal gambling activities. Deposits in those business accounts were listed under the headings of “Gambling Income,” “Vending Games” and “Poker” and were used to purchase vehicles and residential properties.
The indictment seeks a forfeiture money judgment of more than $8.1 million and the forfeiture of 24 tracts of real property, multiple vehicles and cash held in various accounts. Properties listed include two Edmond homes, the residence at 640 N.W. 150th St. and 14014 Crossing Way East, along with others in Oklahoma City.
If convicted, defendants Teddy Mitchell, Dryden Mitchell, David Loveland, Richard Hancock and Gary Gibb each face up to 20 years in prison and a $500,000 fine. Defendants Billy Mitchell, Jerry Gilchrist, Michael McCullah and Justin Musgrove each face up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
marks@edmondsun.com | 341-2121, ext. 108
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