Video Poker kingpin Gets Four More Years in Prison

John "Duffy" Conley, 42, of Pittsburgh, was convicted in 1995 and spent nine years in prison before he was released in January 2004. Federal prosecutors said at the time that Conley controlled 4,000 gambling machines in western Pennsylvania that netted him as much as $15 million a year.

Conley was arrested again in February after an investigation by state police and the Attorney General's office. Authorities said he made more than $3.9 million in sports bets through contacts in Georgia, offshore casinos and local bookies in one four-week span in November and December.

Conley's attorney, Caroline Roberto, argued Wednesday that Conley has a gambling problem and was making the bets for himself. A counselor testified that Conley started gambling when he was 9 and was a compulsive bettor by age 16.

But U.S. District Judge Arthur Schwab agreed with prosecutors who argued that Conley was a bookie who placed the bets with others to even out his books, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported on its Web site. Conley also associated with 17 known felons, prosecutors said.

Posted on: May 17, 2006

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