MA- District Attorney Michael O’Keefe is alleged to have warned a bookmaker about a State Police investigation.
A federal prosecutor revealed in court yesterday that investigators are looking into allegations that Cape and Islands District Attorney Michael O’Keefe told a close friend to warn an elderly Cape Cod bookmaker that State Police were targeting his sports betting operation.
The alleged tip-off in December 2006 prompted the bookmaker to shut down the illegal gambling ring until the following fall, when football season began, according to Assistant US Attorney Fred Wyshak.
The prosecutor did not mention O’Keefe’s name in court, but identified him as an elected law enforcement official who worked in the district attorney’s office on Cape Cod. O’Keefe is the only elected official in that office.
O’Keefe vehemently denied the allegations during a telephone interview yesterday.
“Neither I nor my office has ever had any association with a sports betting operation, and any allegation to the contrary is untrue,’’ said O’Keefe, a three-term Republican whose career in law enforcement spans 30 years. “I did not cause any warning to be given to any sports betting operation.’’
O’Keefe called the allegations a rehash of what was reported a year ago. The Globe reported in April 2010 that a federal grand jury was investigating allegations that O’Keefe protected alleged bookmakers operating on the Cape.
Link:
http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2011/06/02/us_reveals_inquiry_into_tip_off_by_da/