Deerfield Pee Wee Football Gambling Ring Busted
Broward Sheriff’s Office detectives have arrested nine people after a lengthy operation into illegal gambling on professional and collegiate sports, as well as youth football games in Broward County. The Lauderhill and Fort Lauderdale police departments, the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office and the United States Marshals Service assisted with the arrests that capped the 18-month investigation dubbed “Operation Dirty Play.”
The investigation revealed that coaches, team affiliates and the president of the South Florida Youth Football League routinely set point spreads prior to each game. Deputies and officers also conducted search warrants Monday at two businesses that served as gambling houses. Detectives say illegal bets were routinely made at Showtime Sports and Apparel, 3685 N.W. 19th St., Lauderdale Lakes, and Red Carpet Kutz Barbershop, 1835 N.W. 38th Ave., Lauderhill. Gamblers would place bets on mostly professional and collegiate games at those locations, but detectives discovered many bets were placed on youth football games.
Of the nine people involved, all have direct ties to the South Florida Youth Football League and six have extensive criminal histories. They were charged with felony bookmaking, and some were charged with keeping a gambling house. They are (All of their mugshots are visible below):
• Brandon Bivins, 3/19/76, coach/president of the Ft. Lauderdale Hurricanes
• Darron Lashawn Bostic, 1/16/83, coach of the Deerfield Beach Packer-Rattlers
• Darren Jerome Brown, 8/17/71, coach/affiliate of the Ft. Lauderdale Hurricanes
• Brandon Marlon Lewis, 8/4/87, affiliate of the Ft. Lauderdale Hurricanes
• Brad Donte Parker, 7/17/75, affiliate of the Ft. Lauderdale Hurricanes
• La Taurus Tarmayne Fort, 10/12/77, coach of the Northwest Broward Raiders
• Dave Constantine Small, 11/25/70, coach of the Lauderhill Lions
• Willie Tindal, 2/13/76, coach of the Northwest Broward Raiders
• Vincent Gernard Gray, 8/26/70, coach of the Ft. Lauderdale Hurricanes
Anyone with information about youth football gambling in Broward County can report information to BSO’s Organized Crime Unit’s Youth Football Hotline at (954) 888-5259.
UPDATE – 10/30 11:40 am – a total of 9 people are under arrest. The mugshots of the 8 suspects already in custody is below. BrowardNET is working to bring you the 2 PM news conference LIVE. We will update this story later.
by Elgin Jones, SFLTimes.com - DEERFIELD BEACH- A multi-agency law enforcement task force, led by the Broward Sheriff’s Office’s Money Laundering Task Force, has arrested numerous people suspected of operating a little league football gambling, game-fixing and drug ring in South Florida.
A press conference is scheduled for 2 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 30 at Westside Park in Deerfield Beach, confirmed Fort Lauderdale Police Chief Frank Adderley.
The South Florida Times has confirmed the arrests of Dave Small, 42, of Pompano Beach, Darron Bostic, 29, of Deerfield Beach on one count of bookmaking each.
Bostic is former coach of Deerfield Packer Rattlers and is now coaching with the Boca Raton Braves.
Both are being held in the Broward Main Jail on $15,000 bail.
Also arrested is Brandon Bennett, 36, of Fort Lauderdale. He is charged with one count of bookmaking and one count of operating a gambling house. He is being held in the Broward Main Jail on $100,000 bond. Bennett is a coach of the Fort Lauderdale Hurricanes.
Other suspects have also been taken into custody during raids that took place throughout South Florida on Monday where an undetermined amount of cash and luxury vehicles were also seized.
