Florida Prosecutor: Illegal Internet cafes have deep Jacksonville roots

A warning from statewide law enforcement and prosecution.

“If you open up, we will be looking at you and initiating investigations to go after you,” says Florida Department of Law Enforcement Assistant Commissioner Jim Madden.

The Illegal Gaming Task Force has served 14 warrants in five counties across the state of Florida targeting internet cafes owned by Peter Miller, of Neptune Beach, and Ivan Vega, of Lake Mary.  Investigators say these warrants are part of a continued crackdown on internet cafes which actually conduct illegal gambling.

“We warned the other facilities in the state of Florida that internet gaming, internet cafes were not going to be tolerated,” Madden says.

Computers, cash relating to illegal activities, banking records and employee rosters were all seized as part of the investigation.

We have confirmed seven internet cafes were raided in Duval County. Columbia, Marion, Brevard and Lake counties were also targeted by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, and 13 other warrants were served by various city and county agencies in Lake, Brevard and Seminole counties.

There were no arrests made today connected to these raids, although investigators say the information obtained will lead to arrests.  Vega, however, was arrested for keeping a gambling house, manufacture, sale, possession of coin operated devices, lottery and playing games of chance relating to an investigation that took place several weeks ago.

This comes just about one year after a multi-state takedown of internet cafes that led to nearly 60 arrests. Investigators say Allied Veterans of the World ran the cafes as a front for illegal gambling.

“We’re not done- Allied Veterans wasn’t the only case we’re looking into or prosecuting,” says Statewide Prosecutor Nick Cox.

Former Lieutenant Governor Jennifer Carroll stepped down as a result of the investigations because of prior consulting work with Allied Veterans, although she was never criminally charged. Florida lawmakers also acted quickly to pass a new law blocking the potential for illegal gambling.

“As long as people are going to basically thumb their nose at us and keep doing this, we’re going to keep coming,” Cox says.

Cox worked on the Allied Veterans case- the organization is charged with taking hundreds of millions of dollars that was supposed to be for homeless veterans. He says he was surprised to learn that the internet cafes open now aren’t operating under any guise of a charity organization. He was also surprised to learn about the deep local roots of this industry.

“There’s been more of them in Jacksonville than anywhere else so far,” he says.

But he says that will be turning around, and internet café owners need to take heed.

“We’re gunna be enforcing it [the law]. Stop, just stop.”

While the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services used to regulate internet cafes, a spokesman tells us they no longer enforce any laws around the facilities because they were essentially made illegal under last year’s law. The Department says enforcement and regulation now comes by local law enforcement.

State Senator John Thrasher, who sponsored the law last year, says he’s comfortable with how it’s being interpreted and enforced. He tells WOKV he’s had concerns that these internet cafes were opening back up and is happy to see the crackdown continue.

"I'm delighted the law is working," he says.  "And that's what we intended to do - shut down illegal gambling operations.  And that's what apparently these places were.  They may have changed their programs  a little bit, but they still are obviously gambling devices."

WOKV's legal analyst, trial attorney Mark Rubin, says Florida authorities have made it clear with the new gambling laws that internet cafes are illegal.

"And if you want to go into that business now - after all this - then you probably need to have your head examined," Rubin says.

Rubin says the conviction of Jacksonville attorney Kelly Mathis should've been a warning for all cafe owners, but he thinks some of them didn't take note.

"And like rats on a ship, they just came back right out as soon as the coast was clear and tried it again," he says.