BELL GARDENS, CA (CelebrityAccess) — The Los Angeles Times is reporting that agents from multiple Federal agencies raided the Bicycle Hotel and Casino in Bell Gardens on Tuesday morning and seized thousands of financial records from the casino in connection to an ongoing investigation into alleged money laundering.
Virginia Kice, spokeswoman for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Los Angeles declined to comment officially on the nature of the investigation but told the Times that the agents were pursuing a search warrant in the case.
Law enforcement sources who were familiar with the investigation but not authorized to speak about it publicly told the Times that the investigation was focused on allegations of money laundering with the casino suspected of exchanging money gained through illicit sources and then cashing in the chips for 'clean' money.
This isn't the casino's first brush with law enforcement and in 1990, a jury found that $12 million of the $22 million used in its construction came from Florida drug smugglers. The federal government took over operation of the venue, but sold its stake 5 years later to a British gaming concern.
The facility includes a large table games area, as well as an attached hotel and the Bike Brewery, which features live entertainment. – Staff Writers
