You Do the Crime You May Do the Time

For Trenton, New Jersey bookie, Alvin D. Brown the curtains have just closed on a lucrative vocation: a successful albeit illegal gambling operation. The 63-year old man pleaded guilty to the crime before Superior Court Judge Thomas Kelly. It was however Brown's probation violation that landed him in trouble. The New Jersey man will begin serving his sentence on January 29 2009.

What's at stake
In return for getting his other gambling charges and violations of the cigarette tax code expunged, Brown gets to serve a 3-year concurrent sentence. Additionally, he surrendered $125,000 and a 1987 Mercedes Benz to the state. He will receive another vehicle and an amount of $27,000. In 2007 the authorities raided Brown's operation center and confiscated in excess of $741,000. This July they recovered almost $90,000 from the North Willow Street den and a further $62,913 from his Crawford Court home.

Mitigating factors
Despite some links to Anthony Tassone Sr. and the Gambino mob family, Brown has been described as a nice guy. He does have 4 gambling convictions against his name but his admission of guilt has aided his sentencing. Police believe that Alvin D. Brown has taken over several gambling operations in the city in recent years. Even with the discovery of weapons and out-of-state cigarettes, he was not charged on those counts because the guns could not be linked to him.

One factor that may get his sentence commuted is his lawyer's application for him to serve in the Intensive Supervision Program. This court-run program could see Brown being released after serving between 3 and 6 months.