NJ Man Convicted 3rd Time For Cheating At Craps
TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — Twice apparently wasn't enough for a northern New Jersey man when it came to bending the rules at the craps tables.
Less than a month after his release from prison on an earlier conviction for cheating — his second since 2001 — Derek Bethea went back to Atlantic City last August. He put an illegal $1,100 bet at a craps table at the Borgata Hotel Casino and Spa after the winning number had already been determined, according to the state attorney general's office.
On Tuesday, a jury in Atlantic County convicted the 57-year-old Bayonne resident on two counts of third-degree swindling and cheating at a casino and a fourth-degree count of the same offense. He faces sentencing June 6.
According to authorities, Bethea collected his winnings at the Borgata on Aug. 15 but was detained at the Tropicana Casino and Resort the next day and issued a summons.
He also was convicted of cheating at Resorts Casino Hotel on Aug. 30 and at Revel Casino Hotel on Aug. 31. Both casinos refused to pay those bets, according to authorities. Bethea was arrested Aug. 31 and has been held on $30,000 bail in Atlantic County since then.
Both third-degree counts carry a maximum five-year state prison sentence.
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