Press Release  Marshfield Man Pleads Guilty, Sentenced in Connection With Running an Illegal Sports Betting Operation Out of a Quincy Bar

Boston — A Marshfield man has pleaded guilty and been ordered to forfeit nearly $425,000 in proceeds from the large scale illegal sports betting operation he ran out of the Quincy bar he owns, Attorney General Maura Healey announced today. He has also been ordered to close the bar for the month of September.

John Manning IV, age 39, pleaded guilty Thursday to one count each of the charges of Organizing and Promoting Illegal Gambling, Registration of Bets, Delivering and Receiving for the Purpose of Gambling, Conspiracy, Use of the Phone for the Purpose of Gambling, and Money Laundering. 

Following the plea, Suffolk Superior Court Judge Beverly J. Cannone sentenced Manning to two years of probation, ordered him to forfeit $422,992 in cash, and ordered him to close his bar, the Southside Tavern in Quincy, for the month of September. Southside Tavern was also found guilty on the charges and ordered to pay a $50,000 fine.

A Statewide Grand Jury indicted Manning, as well as Patrick Dolbeare, age 36, of Dorchester, Sean Conroy, age 40 of Braintree on the charges in September 2017.

An investigation by the Massachusetts State Police Special Service Section and the Attorney General’s Gaming Enforcement Division revealed that John Manning IV, Dolbeare and Conroy, Southside Tavern’s manager, took illegal bets from hundreds of gamblers through sports betting websites run by an offshore casino. The defendants had dozens of agents working for them as part of the illegal operation.

Dolbeare previously was found guilty and was sentenced to two years of probation and ordered to forfeit his interest in the above-referenced funds. The case against Conroy is still pending.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant Attorneys General Gina Masotta, of AG Healey’s Gaming Enforcement Division, and Pat Hanley, Chief of AG Healey’s Gaming Enforcement Division. The case was investigated by the Massachusetts State Police Special Service Section and Investigator Krista Roche of the AG’s Gaming Enforcement Division with assistance from Paralegal Zach Gregoric and Ken McCarthy in the AG’s Digital Evidence Lab.  Personnel assigned to the State Police Fusion Center and Logan Airport assisted with this investigation. 

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