Thursday, November 02, 2006

A Washington County restaurateur pleaded guilty Tuesday to running an
illegal bookmaking business and criminal conspiracy in a nearly yearlong
investigation of a multmillion-dollar gambling ring based in Pittsburgh.
Michael "Mickey" Flynn Jr., owner of the Union Grill in downtown Washington,
acknowledged coordinating the gambling ring with others, including onetime
illegal video poker kingpin John "Duffy" Conley, formerly of the South Side.
Flynn also pleaded guilty to being a felon who possessed six firearms. Flynn
faces between 24 and 30 months in prison and will be sentenced Feb. 9. He
will forfeit more than $800,000 seized from his home and investment accounts
as part of his plea deal. Flynn, 64, was convicted in February 2004 on state
charges of running a bookmaking operation out of his restaurant. The recent
investigation landed him back in the Washington County Jail for seven months
for violating the parole conditions from the earlier conviction.
Investigators with the state police and Attorney General Tom Corbett's
office collected wiretaps and visual surveillance of Flynn and Conley
discussing bets and then meeting for payoffs, Assistant U.S. Attorney
Brendan Conway said. "Although they couldn't observe the actual transfer of
funds, they did observe the meetings," Conway said. Flynn and Conley met
almost weekly, state investigators testified previously. Those meetings
occurred in Washington and Carnegie, where Conley ran his operation out of a
mortgage finance business. Telephone wiretaps in November and December
revealed more than $3 million in wagers made by Conley, many with Flynn,
state police have said. More than $1 million of that amount was made to
offshore casinos, including BetCRIS.com, a Costa Rican gambling business
where Flynn's son works.

Conway said Flynn was the local contact for the offshore casino, collecting
and paying money to gamblers and bookies in Western Pennsylvania.

Conley returned to prison in May for four years after violating the
conditions for his release on previous gambling charges. He was released
from prison in 2004 after serving nine years for running a $15
million-dollar-a-year video poker empire and attempting to take over an
Indian casino in California with mobsters from Pittsburgh and Youngstown,
Ohio.

No gambling charges have been filed against Conley in the latest
investigation, but the state has turned the case over to the U.S. Attorney's
Office in Pittsburgh.