Thanks to the Honolulu Star-Advertiser’s Peter Boylan for his story on the federal charges filed against a Waianae group accused of running a major cockfighting operation, with it’s alleged leader also operating an unknown number of illegal game roomes (“Alleged ‘Westside’ gang leader pleads not guilty“).
The U.S. Attorney’ office put out a press release about the case on Wednesday.
Boylan reports federal agents seized $468,800 from safe deposit boxes at Bank of Hawaii’s Waianae Branch and another $122,763 from a Waianae home back in March, allegedly all illegal proceeds from the gang’s illegal businesses.
The property where the cockfights were run was purchased on an agreement of sale in 2020 for $600,000. The property is registered in the name of a Las Vegas company, Tycor Management LLC, which operates as a commercial registered agent. The real property tax bills are sent to another Waianae home owned by William Caspino, the alleged leader of this group.
Honolulu police have previously said there are at least 100 illegal game rooms across the island. The number of illegal cockfighting sites has not been reported.
During the period of covid-related special rules, police often entered game rooms, issue citations to those present for being at a gathering against covid emergency rules, but took no additional action.
So are these all independent operations? Are they broken down into groups operated by different gangs? Are the gangs neighborhood based? Ethnically based? Are the operators organized under some broader criminal structure that calls the shots? In other words, do they “pay up” to someone else for the “right” to operate?
And who provides “security” or “protection” for the game rooms and cockfights? This has traditionally been the role of Hawaii organized crime groups, and it is where violent turf wars between rival groups have broken out in the past. How is this structured today?
The reported cash accumulated by the operators of the Waianae businesses suggests these are lucratative operations. Collectively, they certainly qualify as “big business.”
The crazy thing is that there’s obviously a great demand for gambling, to the extent that those running these game rooms and chicken fights, as well as their customers, are willing to take the risks involved in being part of it all.
Given that demand, it’s difficult to fathom that Hawaii remains almost the only state without some form of legalized and regulated gambling. That’s really a head-scratcher.
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A head scratcher? I thought it was crystal clear that our politicians are bought and paid for by representatives of the “gaming” and hotel industry on the “ninth island”? There is no other explanation for why year in, year out proposals for offshore gambling, lotteries and other forms of “gaming” (even giving native Hawaiians the right to run a casino, a la mainland tribes) are shot down with extreme prejudice in the state legislature.
Or are the legislators really THAT altruistic in concern for the well being of the weaker and more susceptible to gambling addiction in our society that they feel their paternalistic, plantation era instincts kick in??
We’re not alone. Utah is the other state that doesn’t allow gambling.
Nevada and every travel business are against it.
When you see the name Waianae and Joseph in the same story you know its family ties run deeeeeep.”You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards”