Thursday, June 11, 2009
Crime SPD Raids Alleged Capitol Hill Speakeasy
Posted by Jonah Spangenthal-Lee on Thu, Jun 11, 2009 at 4:30 PM
According to a man who was questioned by police this morning in connection with the early morning arrests at a Capitol Hill apartment building, the raid resulted from a two-year-long gambling investigation by SPD vice detectives.
At about 12:30 this morning, Seattle vice detectives and SWAT officers burst into an apartment behind the Wild Rose bar on 11th and Pike. According to the man who was questioned, who spoke to The Stranger on the condition of anonymity, the apartment's tenant had been running a card room out of the unit for the last six months.
The men behind the alleged card room on Pike were also involved in running several other underground casinos around town, including the Café Unamerican on 13th and Union—which closed several years ago—and the Café Corsair in Belltown, which shut down earlier this year when it moved to its current location on Pike, according to the source, who said he knows the men. Both Capitol Hill locations were only a few blocks away from SPD's East Precinct. According to the man questioned by police, the speakeasies were an “art project” and the people involved “just love to play cards.”
The man says there were generally 20-25 players at weekly and bi-monthly card games, and that the alleged casino stormed by SWAT officers last night was “very low key” and believes "law enforcement [thinks] that it’s bigger than it is.”
The card room wasn’t high stakes, the man says. “You wouldn’t lose more than two or three hundred dollars and you wouldn’t win more than two or three hundred. It was just a bunch of dudes playing poker.”
According to the man, card games at the apartment took place either weekly or bi-monthly, and featured “full on cabaret performances” and gambling. The man says police believe the casino may have been connected to some sort of drug operation, but claims that although drugs were present at events, they weren’t “the thing people were going there for.” The man adds that the amount of drugs at the alleged casino were “not any more than stuff you would see at a house party.”
Seattle police have refused to comment on the raid but a spokesman said the department would be serving additional search warrants.
Photo by Curt Doughty
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1
wow, you can really tell it's a local election year...lots of lame, low level busts to appease the law & order brigade.
I'm just waiting for the inevitable gay sex crackdown at The Eagle or Volunteer Park...
I'm just waiting for the inevitable gay sex crackdown at The Eagle or Volunteer Park...
2
What the fuck?
What is it with the SPD wasting time, and especially money, with this shit? A two-year investigation for a back door card game? How much fucking money did that cost us?
Ask the SPD a question about something about a murder, they got nothing. Ask the SPD a question about a whorehouse, they'll could probably write you a fucking novel. Did you move into a building that was just built next to a noisy bar that's always been there? Call the SPD, dude. They'll come take care of business. Are you blatantly mentally ill and you just assaulted your roommate for bringing girls home? Don't worry, they'll let you go in a second, so you can rest assured you can go kill him.
I have no respect, zero, zip, for the SPD. Always there when you don't want them, frequently around when you don't need them, nowhere in site when you do. Pack of fucking pussies.
What is it with the SPD wasting time, and especially money, with this shit? A two-year investigation for a back door card game? How much fucking money did that cost us?
Ask the SPD a question about something about a murder, they got nothing. Ask the SPD a question about a whorehouse, they'll could probably write you a fucking novel. Did you move into a building that was just built next to a noisy bar that's always been there? Call the SPD, dude. They'll come take care of business. Are you blatantly mentally ill and you just assaulted your roommate for bringing girls home? Don't worry, they'll let you go in a second, so you can rest assured you can go kill him.
I have no respect, zero, zip, for the SPD. Always there when you don't want them, frequently around when you don't need them, nowhere in site when you do. Pack of fucking pussies.
5
How can I sign up to be an undercover and get paid to go play poker and go get a happy ending down at the rub and tug?
@2, they busted a shitty card game operation because unlike real thugs running a real racket, they are not going to get into a fire fight with these guys. I wonder how much property they seized as "evidence."
@2, they busted a shitty card game operation because unlike real thugs running a real racket, they are not going to get into a fire fight with these guys. I wonder how much property they seized as "evidence."
8
@6 - that's $200-300 per person, per week, which comes out to more like $4000-$7500 per week.
I'm all about a good game of poker between friends, but where I come from, walking out $300 light at the end of the night is not what I'd call small stakes.
Still. No harm done as far as I can tell. This is a pretty silly bust.
I'm all about a good game of poker between friends, but where I come from, walking out $300 light at the end of the night is not what I'd call small stakes.
Still. No harm done as far as I can tell. This is a pretty silly bust.
10
All this report is from a guy who admits he's been in the games before. Is that all there is to this? Maybe. But I wouldn't expect someone who has been there more than a few times (by the sounds of it) to say anything too incriminating. As someone who frequents the Hot House, I can say that the sounds coming from that space have been slightly less than normal apartment sounds on more than one occasion.
You'd think the fact that this has been going on for two years and that more search warrants may be coming might be a clue for something deeper that piqued interest. They don't just call the swat team for anything, there's got to be a reasonable chance of weapons present, and that tends to get investigated before spending the money.
You'd think the fact that this has been going on for two years and that more search warrants may be coming might be a clue for something deeper that piqued interest. They don't just call the swat team for anything, there's got to be a reasonable chance of weapons present, and that tends to get investigated before spending the money.
11
Thank god we are free of the scourge of massaging hookers and cabaret featuring card rooms! I feel safer already!
12
I don't care what anybody says. I feel safe now. At last I can leave the house at night without fear of any cardrooms.
13
@8 If they are playing poker 200-300 at stake means hands with bets around 2-3 dollars. Its not nickel poker, but its not exactly Casino Royale.
15
BULLSHIT - UTTER BULLSHIT
and this in the Pike - Pine have a good time zone, so much for that theory
and this in the Pike - Pine have a good time zone, so much for that theory
16
Wow, they'd better come arrest me too then. I hosted some weekly card games too last year! I think I won $50 one night. Maybe they will take the Cheetos and the seven-layer dip as evidence.
17
What a waste of taxpayer money. We should have the freedom to gamble as much as we want. They should be focusing on violent crime instead of this trite nonsense.
18
art project my ass. jeez, what a buncha BULLSHIT. it was a real deal speakeasy, and anyone could waltz in, drink all night at their staffed bar & either gamble or just swill away the night while watching the "artists" relish their wad$ at the back room register.
19
i think your source meant that the speakeasies were 'full on cabaret performances' not the weekly card games... In my book, $.50/1 blinds is low stakes, try finding a casino that offers such minimums... i agree with most of the comments, that it's a goddamn waste of police time.
20
Christ wept, this is all the SPD can muster up in their "win" column for this year? Bullshit poker games and handjob parlors? Fuck that "We're underfunded!!!" whining.
21
# 10 and 18 = idiots. you don't know what went on there. you probably never got invited and now you're upset you missed out on something. you don't know what went on there and it's people like you who keep seattle in the provincial, small town mindset. "oh no, they swilled they're own night away!" what a joke.
23
Geez, c'mon gang, cut the SPD some slack. You just know, if they don't pull out all that high-tech SWAT gear the feds bought them for WTO every once-in-a-while and give it a little airing out - even if that means using it for some low-grade non-violent, no-victim "criminal activity" - that shit gets, like, rusty. Or something.
And besides, why would they want to use all that expensive hardly-ever-taken-out-of-the-locker stuff on some actual bad guys who might, you know, shoot holes in it? Then it wouldn't be all nice and pretty anymore.
And besides, why would they want to use all that expensive hardly-ever-taken-out-of-the-locker stuff on some actual bad guys who might, you know, shoot holes in it? Then it wouldn't be all nice and pretty anymore.
24
The Feds bought the fancy SWAT gear after SPD had their fucking asses handed to them in the streets of their own city by a bunch of degenerates at WTO. Ever since they've had something to prove, and don't give a shit how many people they have to needlessly arrest, tear gas, or kill to prove it.
...as if shitty police work can somehow make up for shitty police work.
...as if shitty police work can somehow make up for shitty police work.
25
It is time for some full on investigative journalism regarding the SPD vice squad, their budget, the real harm to the community from the "criminals" they bust, and what is not getting done by the SPD regarding other issues.
I would say Seattle is becoming a joke, but I've begun to suspect it has always been this wya, and yes, I grew up in these parts and have lived within the city limits since '92.
I would say Seattle is becoming a joke, but I've begun to suspect it has always been this wya, and yes, I grew up in these parts and have lived within the city limits since '92.
28
This was not a "friendly home game" as defined by the RCW. There are many decent home games in this town, almost none of them take a rake. JessieJB (16) is safe from the long arm of the law. This raid is the MAN telling us that If you stick your neck out like this guy was, you're going to get busted. harsh huh? Aspiring illegal cardroom hosts: break one law at a time (I believe drugs were a factor, even a focus of the host's arrest).
Look, the state regulates gambling. That is how it is. If they legalized prostitution, THIS IS WHAT IT WOULD LOOK LIKE. Regulated, with a capital R. another note: while a typical player "wouldn’t lose more than two or three hundred dollars and wouldn’t win more than two or three hundred" the house always wins. I'm going to speculate that the rake was a 10% ($3 max) per hand. This can amount to over a hundred dollars an hour. I'm sure he made PLENTY of money, at least enough to pay his rent every month.
Oh, the City of Seattle has some law about NO GAMBLING for profit, regulated or otherwise. this is why there are casinos in seatac, white center, and shoreline (the absolute city limits). This is where our problem lies, mostly. If there were a local place to play city-sanctioned poker this might not be such a "problem" that the police need to investigate and prosecute.
Look, the state regulates gambling. That is how it is. If they legalized prostitution, THIS IS WHAT IT WOULD LOOK LIKE. Regulated, with a capital R. another note: while a typical player "wouldn’t lose more than two or three hundred dollars and wouldn’t win more than two or three hundred" the house always wins. I'm going to speculate that the rake was a 10% ($3 max) per hand. This can amount to over a hundred dollars an hour. I'm sure he made PLENTY of money, at least enough to pay his rent every month.
Oh, the City of Seattle has some law about NO GAMBLING for profit, regulated or otherwise. this is why there are casinos in seatac, white center, and shoreline (the absolute city limits). This is where our problem lies, mostly. If there were a local place to play city-sanctioned poker this might not be such a "problem" that the police need to investigate and prosecute.
30
Heckuva job, SPD. You totally, totally deserve all of that funding we give you. I feel so much safer now knowing that nobody in this city is running poker games or serving alcohol in their apartment.
31
Looks like this might be more than just a friendly poker game. http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/lo…
34
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/lo…
"Those charged in U.S. District Court with a variety of drug and gun charges are Richard W. Wilson, who is alleged to be the operator of the gambling houses in Seattle; his friend Marshall Reinsch; and three Honduran men: Carlos Zavala-Bustillo, Cesar Canterero-Arteaga and Edwan Fletes....
...All five men were arrested Wednesday afternoon after trading 7 kilograms of cocaine, 3 pounds of methamphetamine and a special Honda Accord with hidden compartments to the undercover officer for $217,000 in cash, according to the complaint."
bummer
"Those charged in U.S. District Court with a variety of drug and gun charges are Richard W. Wilson, who is alleged to be the operator of the gambling houses in Seattle; his friend Marshall Reinsch; and three Honduran men: Carlos Zavala-Bustillo, Cesar Canterero-Arteaga and Edwan Fletes....
...All five men were arrested Wednesday afternoon after trading 7 kilograms of cocaine, 3 pounds of methamphetamine and a special Honda Accord with hidden compartments to the undercover officer for $217,000 in cash, according to the complaint."
bummer
35
OK, coke and Meth, I guess my last statement comparing this with the jack shack bust isn't so relevant, except we do need ome insight/oversight of SPD's actions or lack thereov depending on what situation we're talking about.
36
I find it interesting that most of the comments see this as harmless fun and the SPF going over board. What would have happened if there had been a shooting at the card games over a dispute over money? Then what would you guys have to say? Maybe I am old or have become too responsible in my old age and so I think about those things a lot more. We used to run a lot of illegal parties back in the mid 90's in a warehouse space near the Police station. It was a ton of fun DJing to that crowd and we only got busted once and I was not there so my equipment or records did not get confiscated that night thankfully. . We were also fortunate that there was no trouble but there were some shady characters and crazy things that were going on in the wee small hours down in our dungeon.
Party on Seattle...............
DJ Nasir.
Party on Seattle...............
DJ Nasir.
37
I'd like to point out that Rick Wilson, the alleged operator of the speakeasies, is not the one who was dealing coke and meth, he merely introduced an undercover agent to a dealer and offered to act as back up incase anything went wrong. This is because Rick is a completely civil and concerned friend (He thought that "Brian" was a friend)... he didn't have to introduce the undercover, the undercover asked him to make the intro and be present at the deal. This from an undercover whose purpose was to find illegal gambling. When he discovered that the "gambling" was $.25 and $.50 blinds (as low stakes as you can get) he went fishing for something else.
the biweekly card games were not the art project. The locations at 14th and madison and belltown were, legitimate, art projects and anyone who'd been there can attest to that. If you weren't in the loop you have no reason to talk about this shit.
the biweekly card games were not the art project. The locations at 14th and madison and belltown were, legitimate, art projects and anyone who'd been there can attest to that. If you weren't in the loop you have no reason to talk about this shit.
38
Anybody who knows Rick knows he is a good person and not a huge drug dealer. While many of us are disappointed he would (allegedly) get involved in a big drug deal like that, it doesn't change the fact that the (alleged) poker game and cabarets were MINOR and didn't deserve to be busted by the SWAT team who had more machine guns on the scene than suspects.
As for Rick making money on the (alleged) game, he could barely even afford his rent half the time. He didn't do it for the money, as evidenced by the court document which state he handed back over half of the money he was paid to ride along on the drug deal. He liked to see people having fun and he would do anything for his friends. He thought "Brian" was his friend.
The police watched him for three(?) years before they busted him. Why? Because they knew the games and cabarets were minor and they wanted to bust him on something major.
As for Rick making money on the (alleged) game, he could barely even afford his rent half the time. He didn't do it for the money, as evidenced by the court document which state he handed back over half of the money he was paid to ride along on the drug deal. He liked to see people having fun and he would do anything for his friends. He thought "Brian" was his friend.
The police watched him for three(?) years before they busted him. Why? Because they knew the games and cabarets were minor and they wanted to bust him on something major.
39
The Unamerican was one of the best contemporary art actions coming out of Seattle. Here is some wikihistory http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Happenings
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