By Joshua Melvin
The San Mateo County Times via The San Jose Mercury News
REDWOOD CITY, Calif. — In between putting out fires and saving lives, prosecutors say a former South San Francisco fire battalion chief took sports bets and collected debts while on duty.
James Selvitella, 52, was arraigned Friday along with four accomplices on charges they ran an illegal sports wagering operation out of a San Francisco apartment and a South San Francisco fire station that handled hundreds of thousands of dollars in bets daily, said Chief Deputy District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe.
Selvitella, who also owns Petaluma-based sports bar Beyond the Glory, solicited wagers from his fellow firefighters and would collect the cash from and drop off the winnings to gamblers, Wagstaffe said. He would use his battalion chief’s phone — on average nearly three times a shift — to call in the bets, according to court records.
Authorities believe Selvitella and the other men were part of a larger national sports wagering syndicate and that the local operation has been taking bets since about 2006.
Michael Cooper, 50, of San Francisco; William Kirkpatrick, 63, Louis Kristovich, 71, of Millbrae; Christopher Mesa, 64, and Selvitella face felony charges of conspiracy to operate a bookmaking operation. Authorities believe all of them were “bagmen,” who transported money to and from gamblers. But Selvitella was the lead “salesman” who went out looking for business, Wagstaffe said.
“What we have is a public facility being used to house an illicit conspiracy,” Wagstaffe said. “This isn’t just a gambling case, it’s a corruption case.”
The bookmaking business was running smoothly until a whistle blower told South San Francisco Fire Chief Phil White that a firefighter had lost $30,000 to the operation after being introduced to it by Selvitella, according to court records.
City officials talked to the gambling firefighter and he confirmed what was happening. Not long after that the South San Francisco police began investigating and later the California Department of Justice got involved, court records show.
Police quickly realized fire department phones had been used hundreds of times to call a toll-free number that investigators later realized was how Selvitella was making the wagers, according to court records. He was also using the Internet on city computers to choose which teams to bet on or track the outcome of a wager, investigators said.
Selvitella was eventually brought before the personnel board for a hearing and fired, effective February 2008, court records show. But his attorney, James Lassart, who is also defending him in the criminal case, challenged the decision in San Mateo County Superior court. The case later moved to Northern District federal court and his firing was upheld, but Selvitella has appealed to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, according to court records. The case hasn’t been resolved.
Lassart did not respond to a phone message requesting comment. South San Francisco Human Resources Manager Kathy Mount also declined to discuss the civil or criminal cases.
“The city doesn’t have any comment,” Mount added. “It is now in the District Attorney’s hands.”
The men did not enter pleas in San Mateo County Superior Court to the charges. All are due back in court on Aug. 26.
Kristovich’s attorney, Charles Pierpoint, said his client is innocent and doesn’t even know Selvitella.
“We’ll be entering pleas of not guilty as soon as we get back to court,” he added.
Cooper’s lawyer, Tony Brass added, “Like in any case, there is more than one side of the story.”
All of the men are out of custody and were released on their own recognizance.
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