Bill (William) Scott acts as Cryptologic's front man and is shown as the licensee of Intercasino, a casino that's well known, and belongs to Cryptologic but they don't admit to that.
The significance is that Bill Scott runs their sportsbook at Intercasino, and he sets the odds for the other licensees.
Scott financed Cryptologic when they started. Is this some great guy, helping to finance a company's future?
Not exactly. It seems likely he was so flush with heroin money, he decided to make a "legitimate" investment, and hand it over to Cryptologic.
If anyone should know, it's the ex-Cryptologic officers, Andrew and Mark Rivkin and Jenny Solursh, former Vice President, and her father Harvey Solursh the chief financial officer.
Jenny Solursh married into the business; she married Mark Rivkin, one of the company's founders and a major shareholder. It's a close-knit company with family ties: Jenny Solursh's father, Harvey, was an outside auditor for the company.
They hired a top man, Norman Inkster, as security advisor to the board. He was Commissioner of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), and president of Interpol. Some job.
http://www.cryptologic.com/investor/1997/nov25-97.html
He was appointed "to advise the board and management of Cryptologic on all matters of security for Internet commerce and related operations and services."
With a man like that on the board (president of Interpol), you'd expect some careful due diligence of everyone important that was dealing with the company. He was on the payroll specifically for that.
Norman Inkster was responsible in his previous job, inter alia, for "client services related to security, fraud control, systems integrity and forensic accounting."
If that's true, and he's so good at his job, why didn't he spot the fraudulent heroin junkie and trafficker, Bill Scott? He most probably did, but Cryptologic was desperate for cash, and with crooks, heroin money is just as good as any.
The Rivkin brothers had no money when they formed Cryptologic. Along came Bill Scott who financed the company to get it off the ground. Scott had been sued in the U.S. for tax fraud, for illegal gambling, and was involved in the heroin trade. That's hardly the ideal person to finance a public company.
Sources have confirmed to our magazine that it seems very likely that Cryptologic was originally funded with illegal, dirty money from Scott. We are also certain that the relative artificial success of the company can be traced back to this illegal, dirty heroin money, plus one more extraordinary part of the equation: Intercasino.
Cryptologic does very well out of this casino because (although they deny it), they own and run Intercasino, and this was confirmed by Jenny Solursh, Mark and Andrew Rivkin, plus many others. They don't have to pay the licensee the usual 50%, so this relatively large online casino is used as a model of their business strategy, but the figures are not related in any way to the real success of the company, or lack of it. Most of the licensees are losing money.
This is where it gets interesting. To get to the bottom of this detective story, we have to look at two possible options:
1) Bill Scott is a real licensee, and he owns Intercasino. Intercasino is the primary source of revenues for Cryptologic and by far. The implication is that the whole company relies very heavily on revenues generated by a criminal involved in trafficking heroin. As a public company, they have a duty to disclose who really is their licensee because a large number of investors bought into the company because of Intercasino.
2) Bill Scott is a fake licensee acting as a front man for Cryptologic. Everything points to this version, and in this case, Cryptologic mislead investors for years by pretending that someone else owned Intercasino.
Cryptologic generates a substantially higher percentage from Intercasino than from anyone else, and this has enabled them to inflate the figures of the public company in an effort to push up the share price.
This means that the number one source of revenues for Cryptologic comes from a fake criminal licensee but this man is for real, a well-known criminal who originally provided money to finance them.
A "regular and real" licensee would probably not have the cash resources that Bill Scott had, and it makes you wonder whether, without this dirty heroin money, they would be where they are today.
In view of the fact that most licensees are losing money, the answer is most certainly no. Without Bill Scott's heroin cash, without the Scott connection, Cryptologic would be a very different company today.
Cryptologic's recent move to invest in Sports.com for a new sportsbook operation appears to be a move to legitimize itself, and cover up its criminal past. It's like buying a new passport or driver's license. The old identity has to go, as no one would want to know you otherwise (the police might catch you and throw you in jail).
Our magazine found a real treasure of a document, a real beauty, direct from Bill Scott's murky past.
Our magazine has decided that this document must be published at all costs.
It tells an incredible story, and we don’t want to give it away too soon, but get this: Bill Scott was part of an organized crime ring dealing in supplying heroin to the east coast of the United States!
He and his associates, either together or in person, were subsequently charged with a range of offences, including:
Engaging in organized crime; conspiracy to corrupt others with drugs; possessing narcotic drugs; conspiring to knowingly permit prohibited use of buildings (for jacking up, and selling the drugs); permitting drug abuse; assault with intent to kill; receiving forged military identifications; importing heroin from Thailand and Okinawa, for distribution along the east coast of the United States, etc., etc.
If the president of Interpol and Commissioner of the RCMP couldn't discover these material facts, there's not much hope of expecting Andrew and Mark Rivkin and Jenny and Harvey Solursh to admit anything. But, they must certainly have known about the heroin connection and Bill Scott's participation.
Make up your mind from these documents. We will publish many updates and the continuing story of Bill Scott and his nasty heroin ring. The document reproduced below is 100% original and not edited, and the source is court records.
*****
3 of 3 DOCUMENTS
STATE OF OHIO, Plaintiff-Appellee v. JEROME POWELL, Defendant-Appellant; STATE OF OHIO, Plaintiff-Appellee v. JAMES A. WILLIAMS, aka KING JAMES, Defendant-Appellant; STATE OF OHIO, Plaintiff-Appellee v. DANIEL D. BURCH, aka RED aka WILLIAM ROBERTS, Defendant-Appellant; STATE OF OHIO, Plaintiff-Appellee v. RARE ELEMENTS, Defendant-Appellant; STATE OF OHIO, Plaintiff-Appellee v. DAVID W. BURCH, Defendant-Appellant; STATE OF OHIO, Plaintiff-Appellee v. ANDREW MEDDLEY, Defendant-Appellant
C.A. Nos. 8878, 8883, 8890, 8891, 8892, 8950
* PURSUANT TO RULE 2(G) OF THE OHIO SUPREME COURT RULES FOR THE REPORTING OF OPINIONS, UNPUBLISHED OPINIONS MAY BE CITED SUBJECT TO CERTAIN RESTRAINTS, LIMITATIONS, AND EXCEPTIONS.
Court of Appeals of Ohio, Ninth Appellate District, Summit County
1979 Ohio App. LEXIS 11395
November 28, 1979
PRIOR HISTORY:
[*1]
APPEAL FROM JUDGMENT ENTERED IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS OF SUMMIT COUNTY, OHIO, CASE NO. 78 1 0054(Q)
APPEAL FROM JUDGMENT ENTERED IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS OF SUMMIT COUNTY, OHIO, CASE NO. 78 1 0054(G)
APPEAL FROM JUDGMENT ENTERED IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS OF SUMMIT COUNTY, OHIO, CASE NO. 78 1 0054(E)
APPEAL FROM JUDGMENT ENTERED IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS OF SUMMIT COUNTY, OHIO, CASE NO. 78 1 0054(A)
APPEAL FROM JUDGMENT ENTERED IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS OF SUMMIT COUNTY, OHIO, CASE NO. 78 1 0054(E)
APPEAL FROM JUDGMENT ENTERED IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS OF SUMMIT COUNTY, OHIO, CASE NO. 78 1 0054(R)
COUNSEL:
Stephan M. Gabalac, Summit County Prosecutor, (Appellate Review Division), for Plaintiff-Appellee
R. Douglas Paige, Attorney at Law, for Jerome Powell
Gary W. Kisling, Attorney at Law, for Rare Relements, Inc. & David Burch
James R. Willis and Stephen Walker, Attorneys at Law, for James A. Williams
John F. Lenehan, Attorney at Law, for Andrew Meddley
Kerry M. O'Brien, Attorney at Law, for Daniel D. Burch
JUDGES:
MAHONEY, J., BELL, P.J. and VICTOR, J. CONCUR.
OPINION BY:
MAHONEY
OPINION:
DECISION AND JOURNAL ENTRY
MAHONEY, J.
These causes were [*2] heard June 26, 1979, upon the record in the trial court, including the transcript of proceedings, and the briefs. They were argued by counsel for the parties and submitted to the court. We have reviewed each assignment of error and make the following disposition:
Defendants, Jerome Powell, James Williams, Daniel D. Burch, Rare Elements, Inc., David W. Burch and Andrew Meddley, appeal their convictions of various drug related offenses. We consolidated their separate appeals, which we affirm in part, reverse in part and remand.
FACTS
The defendants were jointly indicted and tried. Twenty-seven other persons were named in the indictment besides the defendants. The indictment was the culmination of a long and intensive investigation of a heroin importation and distribution operation in Akron with ties in several other states, Europe and the Far East. The evidence at trial shows Daniel Burch to be the principal actor in Akron, but the evidence also shows Burch's close ties with Leslie Atkinson, who headed a major heroin ring on the east coast.
The indictment spans the period from 1971 through January 19, 1978. Several of the counts were amended as to dates at trial. [*3] It is those amended counts, which we address. Count one charges the commission of engaging in organized crime (R.C. 2923.04). The date is 1971 through January 19, 1978. The jury was instructed not to convict unless the offense had been committed on or after the effective date of the statute. All six defendants were convicted under this count.
Rare Elements, Inc. was convicted under count two, conspiracy to corrupt another with drugs (R.C. 2923.01, R.C. 2925.02(A(3)). The date is July 1, 1976, through January 19, 1978.
Count four also charges the commission of conspiracy to corrupt another with drugs. Daniel Burch, James Williams and David Burch were convicted under count four.
Count five charges the commission of conspiracy to possess narcotic drugs (former R.C. 3719.09(A), R.C. 3719.20 (H). The date is 1971 through June 30, 1976. All the defendants, except Rare Elements, Inc., were convicted under this count.
Count six charges the commission of conspiracy to knowingly permit prohibited use of buildings (former R.C. 3719.101, R.C. 3719.20(H). The date is 1971 through June 30, 1976. All defendants, except Jerome Powell and Rare Elements, Inc., were convicted under this [*4] count.
Count seven charges the commission of conspiracy to knowingly permit prohibited use of vehicles (former R.C. 3719.101, R.C. 3719.20(H)). The date is on or about August 10, 1971, through June 30, 1976. Daniel Burch, James Williams and David Burch were convicted under this count.
Count twelve charges the commission of permitting drug abuse (R.C. 2925.13) on or about December 14, 1977. Daniel and David Burch were convicted under count twelve.
Daniel Burch was convicted under count fourteen, assault with intent to kill (former R.C. 2901.24, R.C. 2947.30).
Count fifteen charges the commission of possession for sale of a narcotic drug (former R.C. 3719.20(A)) on or about June of 1973. Daniel Burch and James Williams were convicted under this count.
Count sixteen also charges the commission of possession for sale of a narcotic drug, on or about June of 1976. Daniel Burch and James Williams were convicted under this count.
The trial lasted four weeks and we only summarize some of the evidence here. More detailed accounts are given under particular assignments of error.
Around 1966, Daniel Burch, Leslie Atkinson and Herman Jackson were receiving forged military identifications [*5] in Bangkok, Thailand, from Sylvia Bailey in West Germany. The forged identifications were used to purchase money orders in South Vietnam and a profit was realized when, apparently, the money orders were cashed at a different exchange rate. Jackson used the scheme to blackmail Burch for some $ 34,000. In the late 1960's, Atkinson and Ellis Sutton began importing heroin from Thailand and Okinawa for distribution along the east coast of the United States. Atkinson lived in Goldsboro, North Carolina, and his entire family was involved in the scheme. Atkinson was eventually convicted on federal charges, but continued to run his operation, or some variant of it, from the penitentiary.
You won't have seen Bill Scott yet in the extract above. But, he's here on Wednesday. You can count on it.
