Betting ring believed to be on campus only

Evidence gathered to date has not indicated the sports gambling ring exposed at the University of Maine last week is tied to any off-campus betting figures or organized crime.

Though skeptical outside ties exist, the head of the University Department of Public Safety said Sunday his investigation has not ruled out the possibility the ring, which involved at least 40 students, including 19 student-athletes, might extend beyond the Orono campus.

“I don’t believe so,” said Alan Reynolds, director of the University DPS, when asked if he suspected any outside influences on the ring’s operation. “We haven’t gotten anything to indicate that. We’re gathering evidence as we get it. We’re still attempting to talk to people.”

Reynolds said the amount of money bet in the ring – which he reported as between $3,000 and $10,000 per week, according to evidence gathered in a search of three dormitory rooms – could indicate more people were involved than have been discovered. If the ring only numbered 40 individuals, they would each have had to bet between $75 and $250 per week, amounts that seem large for college students.

“I would think there are more people,” said Reynolds. “We’re working on that. But a lot of people were making some fairly good-sized bets at the time.”

Reynolds also said a code system used to designate members of the ring found in the gambling records could be misleading.

According to an affidavit filed in Third District Court in Bangor, one alleged member of the ring was referred to as “No. 135.” Asked if he believed the number indicated at least as many as 135 participants in the ring, Reynolds said the evidence did not indicate such.

“There may be, but I don’t think so. The numbers on the records started very high,” Reynolds said.

Reynolds, reached at his home, said there were no new developments in the investigation over the weekend, to his knowledge. He said he planned to resume his involvement with the investigation Monday. He expects the investigation, which is being run in cooperation with the Penobscot County District Attorney’s Office, to continue until the case goes to the grand jury in May.

Meanwhile, UM Athletic Director Michael Ploszek said Sunday he is proceeding on the assumption there were no more than the 19 student-athletes identified last week as participating in the ring.

Those 19 athletes, all of whom were immediately suspended from their respective teams, include 13 members of the baseball team and six members of the football team.

The University did not make the names of any of the students public, citing right to privacy laws.

According to the DPS investigation, 17 of the 19 student-athletes placed bets, which is not against the law, but is a violation of NCAA and UM regulations governing ethical conduct. Two student-athletes are believed to be more deeply involved in the ring. Two non-athletes are believed to be the organizers of the ring and subject to prosecution for aggravated gambling, a Class B felony.

The investigation has not turned up any evidence that Maine athletes bet on contests involving Maine teams. According to Reynolds, betting was done on professional and NCAA contests.

Ploszek said he will begin the process Monday of applying to the NCAA for reinstatement of athletic eligibility for the 17 athletes who simply placed bets.