Posts Tagged ‘Beyond the Glory’

PETALUMA, CA –  AUGUST 11, 2010

A Petaluma high school baseball coach and sports bar owner is facing felony charges after being arrested in connection with what is being called a large-scale illegal gambling ring in South San Francisco.

James Selvitella, 52, was arraigned Friday in San Mateo County Court with four alleged accomplices on charges they ran an illegal sports wagering operation out of a San Francisco apartment and a South San Francisco fire station, where Selvitella was a battalion chief.

He and the other defendants are due back in court on Aug. 26 to enter pleas to the charges. They are out of custody pending the hearing. If convicted of all charges, Selvitella faces a maximum of 3 years in prison.

The betting operation handled hundreds of thousands of dollars in wagers at a time, Chief Deputy District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe said. Evidence uncovered during one search showed receipts of $470,000 in wagers in one day, he said.

“It was a pretty big operation he was a part of,” Wagstaffe said. “That level of gambling is something we don’t see too much.”

Selvitella on Wednesday referred calls to his attorney, Jim Lassart of San Francisco, who didn’t return a message seeking comment.

Selvitella, his wife and two other couples in 2006 opened Beyond the Glory sports bar on North McDowell Boulevard in east Petaluma. He also is a junior varsity baseball coach at Casa Grande High School.

On the restaurant website, it states the couples opened a “sports bar for the whole family” after years of “frustration of trying to find a place for adults to hang out with their kids.”

Wagstaffe said he wasn’t certain whether the operation extended to the Petaluma bar, or whether proceeds from gambling may have financed the restaurant.

In July, the city’s planning commission unanimously approved a new 7,500-square foot building for a larger Beyond The Glory at Old Redwood Highway and North McDowell.

The investigation into the betting operation began a couple of years ago, Wagstaffe said, after the fire chief learned that a firefighter had fallen $30,000 in debt to the alleged racket.

Selvitella was fired in February 2008, according to court records. He is challenging his dismissal in federal court.

Wagstaffe said Selvitella solicited wagers from his fellow firefighters and would collect the cash from gamblers and deliver winnings. He would use his battalion chief’s phone, on average nearly three times a shift, to call in the bets and used city computers to research bets and follow games, according to court records.

The other defendants are Michael Cooper, 50, of San Francisco; William Kirkpatrick, 63, of Redwood City; Louis Kristovich, 71, of Millbrae and Christopher Mesa, 64, of Corte Madera.

They face felony charges of conspiracy to operate a bookmaking operation. Selvitella was the lead “salesman” who solicited bettors, Wagstaffe said.

SOURCE: Santa Rosa Press Democrat