Crime & Safety
Bell Gardens Bicycle Casino Raided By Feds
Authorities refused to release any information because the warrant was "filed under seal in relations to an ongoing investigation."
BELL GARDENS, CA -- Federal authorities Tuesday raided the Bicycle Hotel and Casino in Bell Gardens.
Officials confirmed the search but provided no details. There were no reports of arrests.
A call to the club's legal department was not immediately returned.
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"The search warrant issued by a United States magistrate judge was filed under seal in relation to an ongoing investigation," said Virginia Kice of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. "Because the warrant is under seal, we are not able to comment on the scope or nature of the investigation."
Federal authorities last year investigated the Gardena card club formerly known as the Normandie Casino for violating anti-money laundering laws.
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The partnership that ran the Normandie was ordered to pay about $2.4 million to settle federal charges that the poker club failed to report large cash transactions to federal authorities, as required.
As part of an agreement with the government, the four partners agreed to pay a $1 million fine and to forfeit nearly $1.4 million for failing to maintain an effective anti-money laundering program and conspiring to avoid reporting to the government the large cash transactions of some of the casino's "high-roller" gamblers.
Adult entertainment mogul Larry Flynt bought the gaming license for the Rosecrans Avenue club last summer for an undisclosed price and began renovating the aging facility, which he renamed Larry Flynt's Lucky Lady Casino.
Under the Bank Secrecy Act, casinos are required to implement and maintain programs designed to prevent criminals from using the clubs to launder the large sums of cash that illegal activity can generate.
For example, casinos must record and report to the government the details of transactions involving more than $10,000 by any one gambler in a 24- hour period.
Founded in the mid-1980s, the Bicycle Club was seized in 1990 by the federal government after investigators said the club was partly built with laundered drug money.
-- City News Service, photo via Shutterstock
