{"id":51028,"date":"2022-10-06T17:08:36","date_gmt":"2022-10-07T00:08:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=51028"},"modified":"2022-10-06T17:08:36","modified_gmt":"2022-10-07T00:08:36","slug":"man-to-plead-guilty-to-operating-illegal-casinos-in-santa-ana-paying-bribes-to-police-officer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=51028","title":{"rendered":"Man to Plead Guilty to Operating Illegal Casinos in Santa Ana, Paying Bribes to Police Officer"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0SANTA ANA, California<\/i><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"According to a plea agreement, a Fountain Valley man has agreed to plead guilty to federal offenses for operating illegal gambling dens<\/span><\/p>\n

Niem Ngoc Ha\u00a0also admitted to paying $128,000 in cash bribes to a Santa Ana Police officer to avoid law enforcement scrutiny of his underground casinos.<\/span><\/p>\n

Ha, aka \u201cDung Body,\u201d 47, agreed to plead guilty to conspiracy, operating an illegal gambling business, and bribery. <\/span><\/p>\n

These three offenses cumulatively carry a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison. Ha is expected to formally enter the guilty pleas in court in the coming weeks.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"In the plea agreement, Ha admitted that he opened and operated four illegal casinos commonly called \u201cnets\u201d (if they are in a commercial district) or \u201cslaphouses\u201d (for those in residential areas), all of which were located in Santa Ana. <\/span><\/p>\n

Ha admitted to conspiring with three others to operate the casinos, which featured video gambling machines and generated thousands of dollars in profits each day.<\/span><\/p>\n

Ha acknowledged that acts of violence took place at the casinos. <\/span><\/p>\n

In one case, Ha directed a co-conspirator to physically assault a casino patron who had started a fight, and, in a separate incident, a worker at another casino was shot in the neck, according to the plea agreement.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"person<\/a>Ha also admitted that over the course of about six months in 2020 he paid approximately $128,000 to then-Santa Ana Police Officer Steven Lopez to protect his illicit casinos from law enforcement intervention. <\/span><\/p>\n

Lopez, who pleaded guilty<\/a> in December 2020 to accept the bribes and is no longer employed by the Santa Ana Police Department, is scheduled to be sentenced on June 5.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Ha was one of nine defendants named in three indictments focusing on illegal gambling, attempted extortion, and drug trafficking that was unsealed following a law enforcement takedown<\/a>\u00a0in May. <\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"Ha was named in an indictment that charges three other alleged co-conspirators, all scheduled to go on trial next May.<\/span><\/p>\n

The defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The investigation into illegal gambling houses in Orange County is being conducted under the auspices of the Orange County Asian Organized Crime Task Force.<\/span><\/p>\n

The primary investigatory agencies are the FBI; the Santa Ana Police Department, the California Department of Justice, the Bureau of Gambling Control; IRS Criminal Investigation; and the United States Postal Inspection Service.<\/span><\/p>\n

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Daniel S. Lim and Benjamin D. Lichtman of the Santa Ana Branch Office prosecute this case.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0SANTA ANA, California According to a plea agreement, a Fountain Valley man has agreed to plead guilty to federal offenses for operating illegal gambling dens Niem Ngoc Ha\u00a0also admitted to paying $128,000…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":51029,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-51028","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-u-s-department-of-justice"],"yoast_head":"\nMan to Plead Guilty to Operating Illegal Casinos in Santa Ana, Paying Bribes to Police Officer<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0SANTA ANA, California According to a plea agreement, a Fountain Valley man has agreed to plead guilty to federal offenses for 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