Back on December 14, a pistol wielding suspect wearing a full-faced motorcycle helmet gathered $1.5 million in large denomination poker chips and fled on a motorcycle from the Bellagio Casino on the Las Vegas Strip. On Thursday February 3rd, Vegas police reported that they had apprehended a suspect in the case, 29-year-old Anthony Carleo. Carleo is the son of Las Vegas Municipal Judge George Assad. The suspect was charged with robbery and burglary with a deadly weapon, and was booked at the Clark County Detention Center.
Carleo was apprehended after he tried to sell the stolen chips to other gamblers at a discount. Finally, he made the mistake of trying to sell chips to an undercover police officer. Police say that Carleo may also have robbed the Las Vegas Suncoast Casino poker room cashier a week before the Bellagio incident.
Police report that days after the robbery, Carleo spent several nights in a complementary room at the Bellagio, and lost more than $107,000 at the house poker tables.
Carleo’s father, Judge Assad, released a statement stating, "I think it goes without saying that as a father, I am devastated and heartbroken to see my son arrested under these circumstances, as is the rest of his family. As a working member of the judiciary, however, I am bound by the judicial canons of ethics and therefore cannot discuss any pending legal matter as it relates to anyone, including my son."
