What happened to the Jesse James and Al Capones of the world? Sometimes it seems like there just aren’t any good criminals anymore.
Reaffirming this statement is Anthony Carleo, also known as the “Biker Bandit,” who held up dealers for a cool $1.5 million in chips at the esteemed Vegas Bellagio Hotel and Casino before making a rather dramatic getaway on his motorcycle.
Having successfully “gotten away with” his crime, the Darwin award nominee immediately went straight to the Internet to brag about it.
Not only did this winner sign a picture calling himself the “Biker Bandit” and send it to a complete stranger along with two $25,000 Bellagio chips, he also visited a popular poker forum to chit chat with fellow gamblers about the heist.
Later, the bandit went back to the scene of the crime where he lost over $105,000 playing poker but somehow miraculously cashed out with nearly $209,000, hoping casino pit bosses wouldn’t notice. He did this not once, but on multiple occasions, losing every time yet cashing out with more than he came in with.
Of course, before his arrest, Carleo partied it up in Vegas, spending thousands on his friends in bars and clubs.
Thanks to tipsters from the the poker chat room, FBI agents set up a sting operation to buy poker chips from the bandit and further sway a confession by inviting the bandit to a imaginary organized crime ring responsible for robbing casinos.
Of course Carleo sold the FBI agents some chips but responded to the invitation to join the crime ring targeting the Bellagio by saying, “I already robbed the place.”
Dave Schwartz, a former casino security officer in Atlantic City who now runs the Center for Gaming Research at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas explains that casino thieves often return to the scene of the crime, hoping to cash in.
“It’s not like they’re going to chase the guy down in a shootout or do that kind of stuff, but they are going to follow through and eventually lead people to get tripped up,” Schwartz said. “You’ve got to wonder what you can get away with.”
In regards to Carleo’s plan, Schwartz said, “It was not Brad Pitt talking to me,” he said, referring to one of the stars of heist film “Ocean’s Eleven.” ”It was not George Clooney.”
Needless to say, Carleo was indeed arrested and is awaiting trial in Las Vegas.
(Via AP)
