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Suspect Bragged About Casino Heist; Gave $25K Chip to Salvation Army

Anthony Carloe

LAS VEGAS – The suspect in the $1.5 Bellagio heist brazenly acknolwedged his role in the robbery, including an email signed “Biker Bandit” in which he tried to sell some of the stolen $25,000 chips, according to an arrest report.

Anthony Carloe, 29, was staying at the hotel at the time of the robbery and spent several more weeks at the plush casino, losing a lot of money gambling, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reports.

Carleo, the son of a Las Vegas municipal court judge, was arrested Wednesday after allegedly meeting with undercover offers to try to sell some of the chip taken in the December heists.

The robbery, caught on surveillance cameras, shows a man in a motorcycle helmet running across the lobby. He later fled on a motorcycle.

The arrest report says one of the first chips surfaced after a Salvation Army bell-ringer tried to cash it in. He told police that a stranger had dropped it into his pocket.

Among some the details:

— The suspect had allegedly bragged to a casino dealer a few days before the heist saying it would be easy to rob the casino. When the dealer expressed skepticism, the suspect allegedly told him: “Oh no, it’s not that hard. All you need is a black mask and a motorcycle, and I have a motorcycle.”

— He exchanged emails online in a poker forum with a Virginia man in an effort to fence the $25,000 chips, which are called “cranberries” because of their distinctive color. He signed some emails as “Oceanspray25” and sent photos of a stolen chip on a piece of paper that was signed"Biker Bandit."

Police say they have recovered $900,000 from the heist.