As opposed to developing a drama that is compelling Showtime series Ray Donovan producer Bryan Zuriff is starring in their own crime show, it appears, and it’s not having a very happy closing for the distressed Hollywood mogul. Zuriff has now entered a guilty plea with the Southern District Court of New York the Department of Justice arm that indicted Zuriff, along side 33 others, back in April of this season for a high-profile Russian mob-spearheaded, prepared crime online sportsbetting and high-stakes poker syndicate ring. The plea was for Zuriff’s indictment on felony gambling charges and was received by U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Preet Bharara week that is last.

Plea Deal and Forfeiture

Specifically, Zuriff’s charges include running an illegal sports gambling business, transmission of sports wagering information across state lines, and acceptance of financial instruments for illegal Web gambling; he has only pled guilty, at the time of now, to your last charge, and may receive just as much as 5 years in the joint for their role within the gambling scandal that is international. Moreover, the producer may also have to forfeit half a million dollars to meet the regards to the feds to his plea deal. He now awaits sentencing on Nov. 25 three days before Thanksgiving and two prior to the start of (very early) Hanukkah this year so it will be described as a holiday that is really fun for Zuriff this year. Maybe he should eat his turkey early; we hear the stuff they serve in prison is not made by Martha Stewart (anymore).

Zuriff ended up being apparently as busy being a high-end bookie as he was working on sets; Bharara’s statements concerning the plea deal said that the producer ‘spanned the coasts along with his crimes,’ as he was running unlawful sportsbetting operations from both LaLa Land in Hollywood, too as helping run the show right back in the the big apple, under the view of art dealer Hillel Nahmad and other Russian big-time players. Zuriff’s plea deal wraps up Bharara’s work on this instance as the final conviction in what the attorney has termed ‘this sprawling script of unlawful conduct.’ Maybe Zuriff can write some scripts that are new be shopped while in their cell; he must have plenty of time on their fingers.

Bestseller in the Making

With Hollywood never shy about making money off a scandal perhaps not even when its own members are involved (human or areas of the body), word is that another high-profile individual of notoriety who was part of this group is already composing her very own book about this. ‘Poker madam’ Molly Bloom also indicted by the DoJ earlier this year is said to be bandying about lots of big movie star names in her tome, possibly including Spiderman actor Tobey Maguire, whom apparently was a poker game regular in these A-list home that is tinseltown.

The operation that is entire some $100 million in unlawful gambling profits, in accordance with federal prosecutors, using hundreds of tiny bank accounts along with shell organizations produced in the U.S. and Cypress. Mark Galeotti, A russian organized crime expert at brand New York University, says a sharp uptake in top course wide range in what was previously the Soviet Union has created a whole new underground for experiencing the worldwide and enormous -illegal sportsbetting market, with potentially billions in hidden earnings (unless they have busted, as happened here, of course.) ‘We’re seeing businessmen that are higher-rolling in these types of cases,’ Galeotti noted. The rollers that are high bookies are left with the problem ‘of racking your brains on just what doing with suitcases full of money, and that leads to the cash laundering,’ he added.

Now why a successful Hollywood producer got involved in each of this, putting his or her own money, reputation and actual life on the line: that’s a good subject for a crime mystery that is future. Meanwhile, most of the publicity surrounding Zuriff apparently hasn’t hurt his show; it was just picked up for another season by Showtime with only three shows having aired to date.