Gary Craig

@gcraig1

National Hockey League star Thomas Vanek apparently bet — and lost — a lot.

A local bookie, Joseph Ruff, on Friday admitted to extorting a $230,000 payment from Vanek as partial payment of gambling losses Vanek owed. After the plea, Ruff's attorney, Matthew Parrinello, said Vanek had owed upward of $10 million.

"He wasn't very good," Parrinello said of Vanek's gambling performance.

Vanek's agent, Steve Bartlett of Pittsford-based Sports Consulting Group, disputed that the losses were close to $10 million.

"It's complete fiction," he said. He estimated that the losses were closer to $1 million to $2 million earlier cited by sources familiar with the criminal case.

Ruff pleaded guilty in federal court Friday to illegal gambling, an extortion conspiracy and a money-laundering conspiracy. The target of the extortion plot was not identified in court but Parrinello later identified the individual as Vanek.

Vanek, who previously played with the Rochester Americans and Buffalo Sabres, now plays for the Minnesota Wild.

Vanek played with the New York Islanders when he made the $230,000 payment. He endorsed over a team paycheck for the payment early this year.

Vanek was never threatened with any physical harm, Parrinello said. Instead, Ruff lied to Vanek and said that he — Ruff — would be hurt if he didn't collect some money toward what Vanek owed.

"According to the law, was it extortion?" Parrinello said. "Yes."

Under an agreement with prosecutors, Ruff's sentence will be 41 months if a judge approves it at Ruff's March sentencing. He also forfeited his Greece home, tens of thousands of dollars in various accounts, another $10,000 seized in police raids, and $50,000 in a business account held by his attorney.

The plea also includes a judgment of $1.2 million against Ruff.

Ruff's brother, Mark Ruff, pleaded guilty in October to illegal gambling and money laundering.

The $230,000 payment was originally made to Joseph Ruff, who then sent it to his brother. Mark Ruff forwarded the money to an individual in Connecticut whom prosecutors have not identified. That individual then filtered the money back to the Ruffs, according to the pleas in federal court.

Joseph Ruff used $40,000 of the money for a wedding celebration at the Irondequoit Country Club, his brother said in his plea. Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Marangola said that money has been seized by federal authorities.

The brothers and Paul Borrelli were arrested in June and accused of running an illegal sports gambling business that used multiple offshore Internet gambling websites.

Federal authorities allege that bettors made cash payments to settle wagers at The Marina Restaurant and Bar in the Charlotte neighborhood of Rochester. Police raided the restaurant in June.

Also raided were the homes of Borrelli and Joseph Ruff. Authorities said they seized more than $80,000 in gambling proceeds "secreted in various locations" while executing search warrants at the homes.

Authorities allege that there were $76 million in gambling wagers from January 2012 until the arrests.

The case against Borrelli continues.

Vanek has said that he no longer gambles and the National Hockey League has taken no action against him. There have been no claims that Vanek bet on hockey.

Parrinello said that Vanek had stopped betting for over a year when the Ruffs were trying to collect from him. Vanek's wagers were on football and basketball, Parrinello said.

Vanek's agent, Bartlett, said that he's tired of Vanek being dragged into the criminal case. Vanek cooperated with the FBI and testified before a federal grand jury.

"Despite his making some bad decisions, he was the victim of extortion," Bartlett said. " ... I can assure you that Thomas Vanek will probably never bet a dollar again."

GCRAIG@DemocratandChronicle.com

Twitter.com/gcraig1