By Robert Gavin
Times Union, Albany
ALBANY — An Albany County jail officer who moonlighted as a bookie pleaded guilty to a felony Tuesday for his role in an Internet gambling ring in which bets were placed at the jail.
Timothy Robillard, 45, of Clifton Park, admitted to first-degree promoting gambling during an appearance before state Supreme Court Justice Joseph Teresi in Albany.
Robillard, who will be sentenced April 15, must forfeit $25,000 and cooperate in an ongoing state and federal case. He and his attorney, Michael McDermott, gave no immediate comment outside the courtroom, where Robillard’s case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Steven Sharp.
Robillard and his local codefendants — one of them a fellow jail officer — were charged April 10 with roles in a massive Internet gambling ring that stretched from Florida to Oklahoma and had global tentacles.
Robillard’s plea follows that of four codefendants charged at the state level, including former Albany County jail officer James Cerniglia, who pleaded guilty last August to misdemeanor gambling promoting.
On the day of the bust, Robillard and Cerniglia were marched out of the jail in handcuffed. Also convicted in the state case were longtime Latham-based bookie Joseph “Oink” Carucci and Christopher Socola and Craig Hayner of Clifton Park.
Federal prosecutors in Albany have secured money laundering convictions of Philip Gurian of Boca Raton, Fla, known as “Florida Phil,” who has past mob ties, and Michele Lasso, a Panamanian national who controlled bank accounts, credit cards and wire transfers for the massive sports betting ring.