Both found to be in U.S. illegally, agency says
The Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office (SCSO), in collaboration with the Florida Gaming Control Commission (FGCC), has arrested two men on charges related to illegal gambling, the agency has announced.
Mevin Rodrigues, 30, and Dylan Cardoso, 32 — both of 75 Second Ave. in Englewood — were taken into custody on Sept. 2 at the Magic Arcade, which is located at 5624 Swift Road in Sarasota, a news release said.
“The arrests followed a months-long investigation into several illegal gambling operations in Sarasota County,” the release explained. “Detectives secured a search warrant for the Magic Arcade and arrest warrants for Rodrigues and Cardoso,” the release added. “Both individuals face charges of possession of slot machines and keeping/maintaining a gambling house. FGCC agents seized 117 slot machines and currency during the operation,” the release noted.
“Furthermore, authorities discovered that Rodrigues and Cardoso were in the United States illegally with revoked visas,” the release pointed out.
A Sheriff’s Office Corrections Division record for each man — apart from the forms pertaining to the gambling charges — said “Administrative Hold: Immigration and Customs Enforcement [ICE].”
Although The Sarasota News Leader found that their jail booking records on the charges showed that total bond of $300 was set for each of the men, Matthew Binkley, manager of the Sheriff’s Office’s Community Affairs Office, told the News Leader on Sept. 10 that the men were released to ICE on Sept. 4.
The news release added, “SCSO is collaborating with Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) for illegal immigration enforcement.”
Further, the Sheriff’s Office news release said, “This operation was made possible through strategic partnerships with FGCC and HSI, as well as the internal teamwork of SCSO’s Intelligence and Tactical Units, Special Investigations Section, Criminal Investigations Section, Patrol, and Crime Scene Unit. The investigation remains ongoing.”
The release also quoted Sheriff Kurt A. Hoffman: “We continue to partner with the Florida Gaming Control Commission with the goal of ridding our community of these gambling businesses.” He added, “Our citizens’ complaints have been heard, and we are successfully shutting them down.”
“Not only were these arrestees breaking our state gambling laws,” Hoffman continued, “but they have also broken our immigration laws, and through our partnership with ICE, they will be held accountable.”
Details of the investigation
The executed arrest warrant for Rodrigues notes that the Sheriff’s Office “received multiple anonymous tips alleging that Magic Arcade … was operating as an illegal casino with slot machine gaming.” It adds, “A [Sheriff’s Office] review of current casino licenses throughout Florida revealed that the Magic Arcade does not have a license and has never been issued one by the State of Florida.”
The warrant says that on June 25, detectives with the agency’s Intelligence Unit (Intel) “conducted surveillance on Magic Arcade to determine activity patterns and validate the incoming complaints. Detectives observed the multiple patrons entering and exiting the building.”
Further, the detectives “observed a male suspect (later identified as Rodrigues) holding the front door of the casino open while speaking with patrons outside. In the background of the suspect, inside the doorway, there appeared to be two operating slot machines,” the warrant continues. “The screens on the slot machines were illuminated and appeared to be showing images of games of chance. These images are consistent with slot machines found in legitimate licensed casinos.”
Then the warrant points out that Intel Unit detectives “conducted surveillance” on the Magic Arcade on nine occasions from June through August. On Aug. 15, detectives also conducted surveillance at Rodrigues’ residence, the warrant notes.
On Aug. 19, it says, an undercover detective who “has participated in multiple undercover gambling operations that encompassed identifying, playing, and articulating illegal slot machines” entered Magic Arcade with $100 “of pre-recorded currency …” That detective was equipped “with covert audio and video recording equipment for the duration of the visit inside the Magic Arcade casino.”
Once within the Magic Arcade, the warrant notes, the detective “immediately observed illegal slot machines spanning all areas of the space inside the casino. The number of slot machines was estimated to be between 60-70 total inside. These machines were consistent in their profile, names, appearance, and sounds with slot machines found in legal casinos of Florida and Las Vegas, NV.”
The warrant proceeds to provide details about the detective’s time inside the Magic Arcade.
On Aug. 21, the same undercover detective went again to the Magic Arcade, the warrant says. Extensive information about that visit is provided, as well.
The warrant further notes, “Rodrigues was observed by detectives on numerous occasions utilizing a set of keys to unlock the casino, prior [to] the arrival of other employees.” Moreover, it says he was observed “delivering food from his residence to the casino, a function normally completed by an employee of the business.”
Additionally, the warrant points out that the undercover detective observed that Rodrigues did not play the slot machines but acted “in the capacity of an employee/manager of the business.”
The Probable Cause Affidavit for Cardoso describes his actions as those of an employee of the Magic Arcade. It adds that when the Sheriff’s Office executed a search warrant for the business on Sept. 2, “Cardoso was observed hiding in a locked closet.” He refused to come out when given multiple commands to do so, the affidavit continues, so detectives “breached the door with mechanical tools and took [him] into custody.”
The detectives then found that he had keys in his pocket that could be linked to the operation of the slot machines, the affidavit points out, including one “that controlled the diagnostics for the slot machines …”