Contact: Barbara Barnes
Phone: (716) 843-5817
Fax Number: (716) 551-3051
ROCHESTER, N.Y. — U.S. Attorney Trini E. Ross announced today that Thomas J. Rourke, 51, of Rochester, N.Y., was arrested today on charges of obstructing state and local law enforcement investigations and obstructing official process. announced that he had been indicted on The charges carry a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and he will be fined $250,000.
Meghan K. McGuire, the assistant U.S. attorney leading the case, said in October 2020, the Homeland Security Investigation Agency filed an ongoing federal, state, and local lawsuit against illegal gambling operations, according to the complaint. It said it participated in a joint law enforcement investigation. One of his businesses was an illegal bookmaking business that was managed through an account on the website sport700.com. Multiple members of the business accessed the website in order to manage and operate the business, violating multiple New York state laws.
During the course of the investigation, investigators intercepted a series of phone calls and text messages between the subjects, subagents and individual bettors discussing bet placements, winning collections and loss payments. Investigators also monitored an account on sport700.com.
On January 3, 2021, a search warrant was executed against one account belonging to the individual identified as Subject 1. A review of the accounts reveals that Target 1 had 16 subagents who collectively managed 221 individual bettors’ accounts. For the period of the account from April 25, 2019 to January 3, 2021, Target 1 generated a gambling profit of $1,241,172. In February 2021, a search warrant was executed against accounts belonging to her second target of the investigation (Target 2). The Target 2 account was created on 25th April 2016 and had 128 sub-agent accounts managing 1,789 individual bettors with a combined profit of $8,945,629.
During the investigation, investigators overheard a phone call between Target 1 and Target 2. Meanwhile, Target 1 said a member of the New York State Police Department named “TJ” informed him of the ongoing investigation. Target then discussed changing his website password and domain name and erasing his betting history to avoid detection. At the time, Rourke was a sergeant in the New York State Police.
Subsequent investigation revealed that on December 17, 2020, a uniformed New York state trooper performing maintenance on the computer of a senior NYSP investigator involved in the investigation found Target 1’s name clearly visible at the top of the document. It turned out that he had observed a draft affidavit stating: Access to the senior investigator’s office was controlled by a swipe card system. Records show that on December 17, 2020, Trooper visited her office three times in the morning. An examination of the Trooper’s cell phone reveals that during that time the Trooper texted her messages and called her twice to the cell phone number registered with Rourke. Later that afternoon, she received two more calls on Rhekwe’s mobile phone. The text message said, “Please call me as soon as possible.” Troopers later confirmed that they had disclosed the existence of the investigation to Loewke.A search of Loewke’s cell phone also found evidence that he had been engaging in illegal sports betting, making repeated bets with another individual. Found.
Loewke appeared before Federal Magistrate Judge Marian W. Payson this afternoon and was conditionally released.
The criminal complaint is the result of an investigation by the Homeland Security Investigation Service, under the direction of Special Agent Matthew Scarpino of the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigation Service, under the direction of Special Agent Thomas Fatruso. York Police under Major Brian Ratajczak, Greek Police under Chief Michael Wood, Rochester Police under Chief David Smith. Additional assistance was provided by the Monroe County District Attorney’s Office.
The fact that a defendant is charged with a crime is merely an accusation, and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.
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