Nine men have been arrested for gambling on pee wee football games, according to the Broward Sheriff's Office.
The Lauderhill and Fort Lauderdale police departments, as well as the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office and the United States Marshals Service, all joined forces in an 18-month-long investigation called "Operation Dirty Play" in which the alleged winnings totaled more than a hundred grand, according to an arrest warrant.
All nine have been charged with bookmaking, keeping a gambling house, and other offenses.
The investigation, which was kicked off in May in 2011 after an ESPN report, revealed that coaches, team affiliates, and the president of the South Florida Youth Football League routinely set point spreads prior to each game.
Deputies and officers conducted search warrants on Monday at two businesses that served as gambling houses.
According to the detectives, illegal bets were routinely made at Showtime Sports and Apparel, (3685 NW 19th St., Lauderdale Lakes) and Red Carpet Kutz Barbershop (1835 NW 38th Ave., Lauderhill).
Gamblers would place bets on mostly professional and collegiate games at those locations, but detectives also say there were numerous bets laid down on youth football games.
Of the nine people involved, all have direct ties to the South Florida Youth Football League, and six have extensive criminal histories. They were charged with felony bookmaking, and some were charged with keeping a gambling house. They are:
- Brandon Bivins, coach and president of the Fort Lauderdale Hurricanes
- Darron Lashawn Bostic, coach of the Deerfield Beach Packer-Rattlers
- Darren Jerome Brown, coach/affiliate of the Fort Lauderdale Hurricanes
- Brandon Marlon Lewis, affiliate of the Fort Lauderdale Hurricanes
- Brad Donte Parker, affiliate of the Fort Lauderdale Hurricanes
- La Taurus Tarmayne Fort, coach of the Northwest Broward Raiders
- Dave Constantine Small, coach of the Lauderhill Lions
- Willie Tindal, coach of the Northwest Broward Raiders
- Vincent Gernard Gray, coach of the Fort Lauderdale Hurricanes
Anyone with information about youth football gambling in Broward County is asked to contact the BSO's Organized Crime Unit's Youth Football Hotline at 954-888-5259.
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