In the federal case against BetonSports, the United States will not object to recommendations that tax evasion and obstruction charges be dismissed against Gary S. Kaplan, the company's jailed founder, according to court documents filed Monday.
In April, Magistrate Judge Mary Ann L. Medler, of Federal District Court in St. Louis, Mo., recommended the charges be dropped. Judge Medler's recommendation awaits a final ruling from District Judge Carol E. Jackson.
While Judge Jackson could find differently than Judge Medler, the prospect is unlikely.
"You're very seldom going to find the system would be so divided against itself," Martin D. Owens, a California lawyer who specializes in Internet gambling law, told Interactive Gaming News in April. "Ninety-nine times out of 100 you can count on the magistrate's recommendations."
According to court documents, however, the government said it is considering whether to seek a second superseding indictment, which, if sought, could revise the tax evasion and obstruction charges.
In July 2007, the case's defendants, which include David Carruthers, the former chief executive of BetonSports, were ordered to reenter their pleas after the government issued a superseding indictment.
In state and federal courts, prosecutors are at liberty to issue a superseding indictment when it adds or modifies the charges in the original indictment.
Mr. Kaplan was detained in the Dominican Republic in March 2007, and is awaiting trial in St. Louis.
He still faces charges of racketeering, mail fraud, use of a communications facility to transmit betting information and transportation of gambling paraphernalia across state lines.
No trial date has been set.
Click here to view Government's Response to Report and Recommendation of United States Magistrate Judge Concerning Gary Kaplan's Motion to Dismiss Counts 14-22.