Bookmaking Suspects in O.C. Are Identified

ANAHEIM —  Police on Monday released the names of the three people arrested here Sunday in connection with a sprawling bookmaking operation.

Twelve people were arrested in Anaheim, Los Angeles County and Santa Fe, N.M., following a yearlong investigation by police in those areas. The three arrested in Anaheim were Jason D. Drotter, 24, of Pico Rivera, Colleen E. Posner, 35, of Rowland Heights, and Won Sok Chang, 22, of Los Angeles. They were booked on suspicion of felony bookmaking and conspiracy.

In another investigation of a separate but related ring, Anaheim police arrested six people Jan. 7 in Los Angeles County, including Stephen Flicker, 54, of Los Angeles, the man suspected of being the ringleader.

Flicker, who posted bail, was arrested again Jan. 8 at Hollywood Park racetrack with $10,000 in his pocket, police said.

“He’s a notorious figure up in Los Angeles County,” Anaheim Police Lt. James Flammini said.

Flammini said that suspect Posner owns a 1996 Acura and was making $700 a week working for the ring while collecting welfare and food stamps.

The two gambling rings began in Los Angeles County but strayed into Orange County and out of state to avoid scrutiny, Flammini said.

“They can move as much as they want, but it doesn’t slow us down,” he said.

Investigators say the rings were using sophisticated phone equipment, toll-free numbers and customer identification numbers to process more than $100,000 in wagers each week.

Flammini said both rings were aggressively seeking new business in Orange County, drawing the attention of investigators.

The arrests Sunday were made when police served search warrants at seven sites where workers logged phone bets and tracked transactions. The arrests came just before the beginning of the National Football League playoffs, police said.

At one of the sites, investigators took bets over the phones and intercepted calls from about 100 bettors. At another location, Anaheim investigators posed as operators and accepted more than $10,000 in bets in 15 minutes. Bettors are rarely prosecuted, Flammini said.