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The case is among numerous embarrassing setbacks for the nuclear force. Disciplinary problems, security flaws, weak morale and leadership lapses documented by The Associated Press over the past two years prompted Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel on Nov. 14 to announce top-to-bottom changes in how the nuclear force is managed that will cost up to $10 billion.
In early September 2013 Giardina was quietly suspended from his post at Strategic Command, which he had assumed in December 2011. One month later he was fired and reduced in rank from three-star to two-star admiral.
The case against Giardina opened in the wee hours of June 16, 2013, when an Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation agent responded to calls from the Horseshoe reporting the discovery of three counterfeit $500 poker chips. Casino surveillance video showed Giardina had played them. Interviewed two days later, Giardina admitted using them but claimed to be an innocent victim.
The Army lab that tested the chips and the DNA concluded that the center section of a genuine $500 chip had been photocopied or scanned and then printed onto adhesive stickers. The stickers were then applied to the front and back of genuine $1 chips to make them appear to be real $500 chips. One of the problems, however, was that the adhesive stickers covered up a security feature embedded in the chips and visible only with ultraviolet light.
The No. 2 officer at U.S. Strategic Command, who was suspended from his position because of a criminal investigation, is suspected of using counterfeit gambling chips in a poker game at a western Iowa casino, law enforcement sources said.
Kunze said NCIS began its investigation of Giardina in July after having been contacted by a non-Defense Department law enforcement agency. Based on the information from the NCIS's ongoing investigation Kehler decided on Sept. 3 that Giardina should be suspended.
Giardina remains Stratcom's deputy commander, but he is not carrying out the duties associated with the job that he has held since December 2011. His suspension was first reported by the Omaha World-Herald.
David Dales, a special agent in charge with the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI), told ABC News that in June his agency began an investigation centered on the introduction of counterfeit poker chips in a poker game at the Horseshoe Council Bluffs Casino in Council Bluffs, Iowa. That city is located across the Missouri River from Omaha, Neb., which is near Stratcom's headquarters.
Dales said the use of counterfeit chips is \"pretty rare\" and constitutes \"a Class D felony in the state of Iowa.\" Dale would not characterize the amount of chips used in the game, but described it as \"a significant monetary amount.\"
Dale said the investigation is still open and no charges have been brought in the case, though DCI's investigation is pretty much complete. The county attorney has decided to hold off on charges for the moment and DCI is fully cooperating with the investigation being conducted by NCIS, he said.
Council Bluffs is home to three casinos that do the most gambling business in the state of Iowa. Horseshoe Council Bluffs Casino, run by Harrah's, is home to a greyhound race track and has table games and slot games inside a casino area.
Since the advent of online casino games, the use of fake chips still plagues land-based casinos. It not only compromises the integrity of the gaming experience but also constitutes a serious offense.
This guide explores why using fake chips is highly discouraged, the difficulty in creating counterfeit chips, the consequences of being caught with fake chips and current anti-counterfeit measures employed by casinos.
Being caught with fake chips can also lead to casino bans and, in some cases, being blocklisted from all gambling establishments, including online game casinos. Interestingly, in America, the most commonly counterfeited denomination is the $100 chip.
Reproducing stripe colors, UV markings, intricate inlays with logos, denominations and security features like holograms presents additional challenges. Some high-value chips even incorporate RFID technology, often found in high-limit gambling rooms.
The AlpVision Fingerprint is a cost-effective solution for casinos that detect counterfeit products at a detailed level. This technology identifies intrinsic flaws in plastic molds and compares them to determine if similar microscopic inconsistencies exist.
The absence of these unique imperfections indicates that the product is not genuine. Counterfeiters find it extremely challenging to replicate these minute markings, even if they have access to the original plastic mold.
In spite of the challenges and measures in place, counterfeiters are still able to get these chips into circulation at casino table games. To the untrained eye, things like the weight and design of a chip are not reliable indicators for determining whether it is real or not.
While the weight, look and design of a chip can provide initial clues regarding authenticity, they are not foolproof indicators. Some counterfeiters can create visually convincing replicas that closely mimic genuine chips.
For the gambler, the risks associated with using fake chips include fraud charges and prosecution. It could also mean a permanent ban from all brick-and-mortar casinos and an inability to register for online gaming.
A judge on Thursday sentenced Christian Lusardi to five years in prison. Lusardi also must pay $463,540 in restitution to the Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa for the revenue it lost when it canceled the 2014 tournament in Atlantic City and $9,455 to Harrah's Casino Hotel for damaging its plumbing.
Authorities said Lusardi suspected his scheme had been discovered so he flushed the fake chips down the toilet in his room at Harrah's Resort Atlantic City, where he had been staying. But the chips clogged the pipes, and guests on the floor below complained that water was dripping into their rooms.
Maintenance was called, and the chips were found. An additional 22 tournament chips worth $5,000 were found in a clogged toilet in the Borgata the next day. A total of $3.6 million worth of tournament chips were recovered, though they had no actual cash value.
The tournament was supposed to run for three weeks but was terminated after three days when the counterfeit poker chips were found. Investigators determined $800,000 in fake chips had been put into play during the first two days of the tournament.
There were 27 people remaining in the Borgata Winter Open Big Stack, No Limit Hold 'Em event when play was suspended. The $1.5 million in remaining prize money was put on hold before the state Division of Gaming Enforcement ordered the money be distributed and entry fees refunded.
Investigators said he purchased the chips online from a Chinese manufacturer and then put a counterfeit Borgata logo on them. In response to the scam, the Borgata began using more intricate chips with more colors and an authentication element that can be checked under ultraviolet light.
A North Carolina man will be sentenced to five years in prison for using counterfeit chips in an Atlantic City poker tournament. Christian Lusardi, who had already been sentenced earlier this year to five years for pirating DVDs, pleaded guilty and accepted the sentence as part of a deal.
Prosecutors say Lusardi ordered the chips from China and put fake Borgata stickers on them. In all, $3.6 million in fake chips were recovered. Lusardi is expected to be sentenced to five years for trademark counterfeiting and three years for criminal mischief, though the sentences will run concurrently.
Timothy Michael "Tim" Giardina (born 1957) is a retired United States Navy officer and formerly the deputy commander of U.S. nuclear forces.[1][2] In May 2014, all charges associated with counterfeiting were dropped by the Navy, but he was fined and reprimanded for two specifications of conduct unbecoming an officer and gentleman. The specifications included 1) not reporting exactly what valuables he found in a casino bathroom when he initially reported finding valuables to casino management and 2) lying to an Iowa investigator in the casino when questioned about the incident. As a result of being suspended pending resolution of the ongoing investigation, Giardina reverted to the rank of rear admiral[3]
In June 2013, Giardina was caught using three counterfeit gambling chips in a Council Bluffs casino.[5] Giardina was investigated by the Navy and suspended from duty in September 2013. Later investigation revealed that someone had altered several $1 chips into $500 chips with adhesive tape and paint. It was further alleged that Giardina would spend approximately 15 hours a week on occasion playing poker.[6] In May 2014, he was found guilty of two counts of "conduct unbecoming an officer and a gentleman." He reverted from vice admiral to rear admiral, was removed from his position as deputy commander at Strategic Command, and was given a staff officer position in Washington, D.C.[7]
Christian Lusardi, of Fayetteville, N.C., was arrested Friday at a motel in Atlantic City on charges including theft and rigging a public contest. It was unknown if he had a lawyer. A phone registered to his name in Fayetteville was answered by a recording indicating it was no longer in service.
Borgata staff then checked the chips being used in the Borgata Winter Poker Open and found 160 of the counterfeit poker chips with a tournament value of 5,000, totaling 800,000, among the genuine casino chips. The compromise forced officials to cancel Event 1 of the tournament, while dozens of uncompromised events were allowed to continue.
The investigation revealed evidence that Lusardi introduced the counterfeit chips into the tournament on multiple occasions, state police Trooper Jeffrey Flynn said. It also was determined that Lusardi won $6,814 during the tournament.
Also at the basic level, every casino has a unique set of chips, even if it's part of a greater company and, outside of Nevada, a chip can usually be cashed only at the cage of the casino that issued it. That means that staff are very familiar with their chips and are inclined to spot an anomaly, in the same way that fake ID is far more likely to be spotted in the state where it's meant to have been issued, where security staff looks at authentic cards every day, than in another part of the country, where the look of the card is unfamiliar.
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