Paging Mr. Kaplan. Paging Mr. Kaplan.

I'm sorry, it appears Mr. Kaplan isn't available to take your call. He seems to have left Costa Rica without a trace. There's no record of him flying from one of our airports or talking to any officials. Perhaps you can try Israel?

The United States is now trying to go after BetOnSports founder, Gary Kaplan. The Kaplan clan (him and his siblings) are in a bit of trouble with the Department of Justice. The DoJ website lists the family and companies that they own in an indictment, stating "Other defendants in the racketeering conspiracy include: Kaplan’s siblings, Neil Scott Kaplan and Lori Kaplan Multz; Norman Steinberg; David Carruthers, chief executive officer of BetonSports.com; Peter Wilson, media director for BetonSports.com; and Tim Brown, Steinberg’s son-in-law. The three other charged companies, all Florida-based, were Direct Mail Expertise, Inc., DME Global Marketing and Fulfillment Inc. and Mobile Promotions Inc."

Th DoJ's main goal is Kaplan and the site mentions him specifically. "The founder of BetonSports.com, Gary Stephen Kaplan, 47, was charged with 20 felony violations of federal laws including: the Wire Act, Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Conspiracy, interstate transportation of gambling paraphernalia, interference with the administration of Internal Revenue laws and tax evasion." However, all of this is old news as the indictment was opened and announced on July 17th.

Since then the DoJ has arrested David Carruthers, the CEO of Betonsports, while he was on a flight stop-over in the United States. Betonsports has stopped accepting bets, and Carruthers has pled non-guilty to the charges brought against him. Oh, and Betonsports has fired Carruthers, but that's another long story.

At the time of Carruthers arrest it was believed that Kaplan was in Costa Rica avoiding, well, everyone. He did put out to the media through his press agent that he isn't actually connected to Betonsports anymore and that he's more of a consultant for the company, not an owner. While the DoJ surely appreciated his comments it hasn't stopped their desire to actually talk to him. Now the time has come where the United States would like to get their hands on Kaplan, only he's left Costa Rica and forgot to leave a forwarding address.

The United States has an extradition treaty with the United States. According to the treaty an extraditable offense is any of the following:

" (1) An offense shall be an extraditable offense if it may be punished under the laws of both Contracting Parties by deprivation of liberty for a maximum period of more than one year or by any greater punishment.

(2) An offense shall also be extraditable if it consists of an attempt to commit or participation in the commission of any offense described in paragraph (1) of this Article. Extradition shall also be granted for illicit association, as provided by the laws of Costa Rica , to commit any offense described in paragraph (1) of this Article, and for conspiring as provided by the laws of the United States of America , to commit any such offense.

(3) For the purpose of this Article, an offense shall be an extraditable offense:
(a) Whether or not the laws of the Contracting Parties place the offense within the same category of offenses or denominate the offense by the same terminology; or
(b) Whether or not the offense is one for which United States federal law requires, for the purpose of establishing jurisdiction in a United States federal court, proof of interstate transportation, or use of, or effect on, the mails or other facilities affecting interstate or foreign commerce.

(4) When extradition has been granted for an extraditable offense, it may also be granted for any other offense specified in the request for extradition, even if the other offense may be punished by less than one year's deprivation of liberty in either State, provided that all other requirements for extradition are met. The Requesting State shall submit the documentation required by Article 9 for each offense for which extradition is requested pursuant to this paragraph"

In other words, in the extradition court the US and Costa Rica will decide what Gary Kaplan will only be charged with, and that will be what he will be tried for back in the States after extradition. These charges have to be items which are considered illegal in both countries and would be punishable with jail time of more than a year. In addition, the US must send regular reports to the Costa Rican court as to the disposition and outcome of the case.

I doubt Costa Rica would risk the wrath of the United States by harboring and protecting Gary Kaplan. However, I also wouldn't be surprised if they simply decided to avoid the whole ugly mess by allowing Kaplan to slip out of the country undetected.

There's a rumor that Kaplan left Costa Rica for Israel. That doesn't make an ounce of sense. Israel has an extradition treaty with the United States since 1962 and, unlike the treaty with Costa Rica, Israel has never had to be forced to enforce the treaty. Even if Kaplan was an Israeli citizen (which I don't think he is) the US could extradite him according to Article IV which states, "A requested party shall not decline to extradite a person sought because such person is a national of the requested Party." Besides, Israel is currently being bombed by Hizbolla and there's no reason why Kaplan would enter a war zone in order to avoid US extradition.

So where could Gary Kaplan be?

My guess is that Kaplan is either still in Costa Rica hiding out, or he's gone to Britain. Why Britain? Because internet gambling is legal there and it would make his case a more political one. This doesn't mean that he wouldn't be extradited to the US, but it might be a touch harder to do as his company was traded on the London Stock Exchange until the day they stopped accepting bets. It will be interesting to see where the man is hiding out.

Posted on: August 2, 2006

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