Illegal Gambling Los Angeles
The owner of a multimillion-dollar mansion seized by police this summer for running an illegal gambling operation and for illegal possession of weapons was a guest at one of the cash-for-access fundraisers attended by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in 2016.
Police have charged Wei Wei, 52, with a number of crimes, including operation of an illegal casino at his property in Markham, north of Toronto; illegal possession of weapons, and possession of proceeds of crime. York Regional Police made the details of the arrest public last week. The raid on the alleged operation in July was part of a larger crackdown on illegal gaming operations in the Greater Toronto Area, dubbed Project Endgame.
Multiple sources have confirmed to The Epoch Times that Wei Wei was one of the guests at a fundraising event the prime minister attended with wealthy members of the Chinese community in Toronto on May 19, 2016. Wei Wei is seen in a group photo with Trudeau at the event, as part of a series of photos of the fundraiser published by Chinese-language media in 2016.
The fundraiser drew strong criticism from the opposition due to the background of some of the guests in attendance. Then-interim Conservative Party leader Rona Ambrose said Trudeau’s attendance at the event where “Chinese billionaires” paid for access to the prime minister “does not pass the smell test.”
One of the guests, Zhang Bin, is a billionaire who acts as an adviser to the Beijing regime. Zhang, a member of China’s 12th National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, along with a partner, donated $1 million to the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation and the University of Montreal Faculty of Law, which Pierre Trudeau graduated from, following the event, according to The Globe and Mail.
Dozens of people were detained on Tuesday morning after Anaheim police raided an illegal gambling operation in a vacant storefront, authorities said. Officers served a search warrant on an. Illegal gambling has been a widespread problem in both Los Angeles and San Francisco. Police in San Francisco have said each unlawful underground betting shop they raid, it seems another one pops. Long Beach police detectives were looking for people who would buy tobacco products for minors Saturday but found an alleged illegal gambling operation instead, authorities said. It happened about.
Another guest whose presence proved controversial for the Liberals was Shenglin Xian. At the time, Xian was awaiting final approval from federal bank regulators to open a bank in Canada. The Liberals have said his application wasn’t discussed at the event.
Elections Canada records show that an individual named Wei Wei, a resident of Markham, donated $551 to a regional Liberal Party association on May 16, 2016. Records also show that a Markham resident named Wei Wei donated $1,200 to a Liberal candidate in November 2014, and $205.68 to a regional Liberal Party association in December 2015.
The Liberal government introduced legislation to end cash-for-access fundraising in 2017 following the controversy.
The Prime Minister’s Office referred a request for comment to the Liberal Party. A spokesperson for the Liberal Party didn’t answer questions as to whether there were any interactions between Wei Wei and Trudeau at the event, but instead said the party is in compliance with all regulations for fundraising.
“No donations can be accepted from corporations, trade unions, or associations; individual contributions are strictly limited; and all contributions over $200 are publicly and proactively disclosed on the Elections Canada website both quarterly and annually,” Braeden Caley said in an email.
According to police, Wei Wei’s $9 million mansion in Markham was operated as a high-end illegal casino. In the July raid, police arrested 32 people and seized 11 firearms—including an AR-15 rifle—and ammunition, more than $1 million in cash, gaming machines and tables, and more than $1.5 million in alcohol.
The illegal operations included slot machines and a baccarat table with the maximum bet set at $20,000. The menu included an extensive choice of liquor as well as illegal shark fin.
Police raided two other properties in the greater Toronto area in July as part of investigations into illegal gambling operations. In total, around 30 people have been charged with more than 70 criminal offences as a result of the police operation.
“The money moving through these underground casinos leads to huge profits for criminals that fund other ventures such as prostitution and drug trafficking,” York Regional Police Chief Jim MacSween said in a statement.
“This illegal high-stakes gambling also leads to gun violence, armed robberies, kidnappings, extortion, and other serious violent offences within our community.”
On behalf of Law Offices of Daniel R. Perlman posted in Criminal Defense,Internet Crime on Monday, February 24, 2014
All gambling must be pre-approved by the state
California’s state law does not specifically make gambling legal or illegal. It allows some forms to be legal while it makes other forms of gambling illegal. For example, traditional craps (played with dice) is illegal in California. All gambling must be pre-approved by the state of California through government licensing and is regulated by the Gambling Control Act. This act states that “gambling” means to “deal, operate, carry on, conduct, maintain, or expose for play any controlled game.” By excluding certain forms of gambling from the definition of “controlled game”, the state allows various types of gaming to exist legally.
Specifically excluded as a “controlled game” are the games of bingo conducted with certain restrictions, parimutuel racing on horse races regulated by the California Horse Racing Board, any lottery game conducted by the California State Lottery, and games played with cards in private homes or residences in which no person makes money for operating the game, except as a player. These exceptions allow casinos and card rooms, horse tracks and more than 21,000 lottery retail locations, to generate more gambling revenue than just about any state in the country. California does not currently allow online gaming, though there is mounting political pressure to make it legal.
No prohibition on social games of poker
Some forms of gambling are illegal based on the type of device used. Craps and roulette are illegal in California because they use dice (craps) or a ball (roulette). However, legal variations of these games using cards have been developed and can be found in Native American Casinos. There is no specific state or federal law which prohibits social games of poker, so the Saturday night poker players in the family den could not be criminally convicted for illegal gambling.
In addition to state law, federal law also exists that makes it a crime for anyone to conduct an “illegal gambling business”. These operations are defined as gambling business which:
Illegal Gambling Los Angeles
-is a violation of the law of the state in which it is conducted; and
-involves five or more persons who conduct, finance, manage, supervise, direct or own all or part of such business; and
Illegal Gambling In Los Angeles
-has been or remains in substantially continuous operation for a period in excess of thirty days, or has a gross revenue of $2,000 in any single day.
Illegal Gambling In Los Angeles
Daniel R. Perlman
The Law Offices of Daniel R. Perlman
https://www.danielperlmanlaw.com