10 charged in alleged gambling operation at billiard hall

Federal agents yesterday arrested eight men and two women accused of running an illegal sports-gambling racket out of two billiard halls in South Seattle and Tacoma.

Federal prosecutors said each of the defendants faces a charge of conducting an illegal gambling business, which could cost each of them five years behind bars.

They were identified as: Tuan Anh Le, 34, and Phuong T .Truong, 33, of Federal Way; Hung Ngoc Nguyen, 33, and Mon Mao, 33, of Tacoma; Chien Ngoc Duong, 47, and Hien Thi Tran, 29, of Seattle; Quang Thanh Bui Jr, 40, of Des Moines; Nhan Huu La, 49, and Jannie Mai Truong, 35, of Bellevue; and Lanh T. Hoang, 41, of Renton.

In addition, Le, Phuong Truong and Duong face several counts of interstate communication in aid of racketeering and interstate transmission of wagering information for allegedly calling a sport-betting service in Wisconsin to get the odds on various sporting events.

In a 53-page complaint filed yesterday in U.S. District Court in Seattle, prosecutors allege that the racket netted hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Prosecutors allege that the partners ran a sophisticated bookmaking operation out of Billiard Hoang on South Hudson Street in Seattle and Cuu Long Billiards on South 38th Street in Tacoma at least since October 1999.

The partners made most of their money by taking bets on college and pro football, including this year's Super Bowl, and pro basketball, taking 10 percent premiums on losing bets so the bookies never risked losing money, prosecutors allege.

According to the charging documents, investigators taped dozens of phone calls between the members of the ring.

At the same time, they sent in an undercover agent of the state gambling commission, as well as a cooperating witness — a former bookmaker who had been busted by the commission. Together, they placed hundreds of bets with the alleged bookmakers, prosecutors say.

Ian Ith:206-464-2109 or iith@seattletimes.com