4 alleged Port St. Lucie gambling operations raided, five arrested

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. (CBS12) — A two-month long investigation landed five people in the St. Lucie County jail last Friday when the Port St. Lucie Police Department (PSLPD) raided four businesses accused of hosting illegal gambling operations.

The case began when someone told the police department about the quartet of businesses, which ran the gamut from a beauty salon to a minimarket, naming each specifically, PSLPD explained in a statement announcing the arrest.

PSLPD’s Special Investigations Division brought in an out-of-town detective from the West Palm Beach Police Department to head into the gambling houses and “conduct several gambling transactions,” the statement continued. With the evidence in hand, the officers coordinated their plans, recruited the SWAT Team, the Florida Division of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco, and Port St. Lucie Code Compliance, and arrived at 5 p.m. at:

• Cale Marketplace, 751 NW Airso Blvd.
• Malaika Caribbean Restaurant, 658 SW Port St. Lucie Boulevard
• Frienz Mini Mart, 920 SW Bayshore Boulevard
• Balla Unisex Salon, 1354 SW Bayshore Boulevard

Even though the raids were set to happen at the same time, the police department noted that investigators do not believe the locations are linked. PSLPD’s statement stated each operation likely ran independently of each other.

While they were operating independently, they were all allegedly running the same game: Bolita. PSLPD described the game as one where small, numbered balls are placed into a bag. Gamblers bet on which number will be drawn and are given a numbered ticket. The winning numbers are reportedly reflect on New York lotto process, but the Port St. Lucie operations are not affiliated with New York lotto at all, investigators pointed out.

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The Code Compliance agency determined each location had committed three violations, PSLPD added. The businesses were cited for illegal gambling, unpermitted use of property, and business tax receipt violations. Each of those allegations could result in a penalty of up to $15,000, the police department indicated.

Following their arrest, all five suspects were booked on a combination of lottery crimes. They have since bonded out. The suspects were identified as:

• Bryant D. Francisco, Cale Marketplace
• Chimy Louis Ismero, Balla Unisex Salon
• Josiane LaPointe, Malaika Caribbean Restaurant
• Big John Petion, Malaika Caribbean Restaurant
• Revelyn Tejada-Serrate, Frienz Mine Mart

The counts against each suspect is listed in the gallery.