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 One of the world's most wanted gambling cheats has finally been sentenced after more than 20-years of cheating money out of casinos. Francis Farrugia, 53, is said to have netted millions by double dealing on roulette tables across the globe. He, along with his partners in crime Francesco Baioni, 65, and Frank Camilleri, 61, are said to have hit casinos in Australia, Macau, Las Vegas and in countless European cities using a technique called ‘top hatting.' The trio would basically dupe croupiers by placing a high value chip on top of a winning number after it was called which may sound ridiculous but apparently they were good at it since they managed to get away with doing it for two decades.
Dave Livermore, chairman of the International Association of Casino Security, said, "They were quite slick, but they were going a long time. They've been banned for 20 years.
"They targeted casinos all over the world. During the court case the judge asked his (Faruggia's) barrister what money he used to play the casinos and he couldn't answer because all of their money is from casinos. They didn't have any legitimate funds."
The cheating threesome was banned from almost every casino on the planet and would have gotten away scot free had they not resorted to using fake IDs to get into venues.
"They got greedy and they wanted to go for higher stakes and the higher stakes are in London," said Mr Livermore. "But the surveillance systems in London are superb and the more greedy they became the more obvious they became and they got caught."
Despite their escapades most of the group got off pretty easy. Baioni and Camilleri were issued with suspended sentences, excluded from all premises regulated by the Gambling Commission, and given a curfew. Farrugia was given a nine-month suspended sentence at Southwark Crown Court and was made the subject of a supervision order. It's unlikely that the trio will be back to conning money out of casinos any time soon but considering their history it wouldn't be improbable.
As always, stay tuned to Casinofan for more news and updates.
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