Richard Lee, the grandfather poker player who finished in sixth place in the 2006 World Series of Poker, has been charged with gambling promotion. The district attorney's office of Bexar County, Texas, and the San Antonio police department have been investigating Lee for more than a year. They claim Lee and four business partners were behind www.betbsbnow.com, which booked sports bets.
The charge, which was also levied against the supposed business partners, is a misdemeanor. The charges are also tied to a plea deal that is being worked out between Lee's attorney and the D.A. They will be arraigned Nov. 7.
The charge carries up to a year in jail, a fine of $4,000, or both, although the plea deal will probably stop the four men from going to jail. Lee will most likely end up paying much more than the $4,000 fine, though.
In January, a warrant was served at one of Lee's San Antonio homes. Seized in this raid was $2.7 million in cash, a 2005 Lexus LX470, a 2005 Mercedes S430, a 2004 Toyota 4Runner, a 2005 Mercedes S430, and a truckload of designer handbags, electronics, and watches.
Lee has filed civil forfeiture proceedings to try reclaiming the property, but the cash and property is being used as leverage by the district attorney's office during the plea negotiations. It's possible that Lee will lose up to 80 percent of the $2.7 million that is now in the government's hands.
Lee claims that the money seized was part of the $2.8 million he won for his sixth-place finish last summer. The authorities say the money came from taking bets over the Internet.
The district attorney's office said the investigation concerning Lee had been going on for six months prior to the day the warrants were served in January. This is the first charge stemming from the case, and the district attorney's office couldn't say if more charges were coming.
