Alleged 'Bellagio Bandit' Lived Large at Same Vegas Hotel, Say Police

Feb. 4, 2010— -- The man accused of a brazen casino heist, stayed at the very hotel he robbed just weeks after the crime, gambling with some of the $1.5 million in stolen chips and living the high life, police said.

Anthony Carleo, the 29-year-old son of a Las Vegas judge, was arrested in a police sting operation this week after allegedly selling $125,000 in gambling chips stolen from the Bellagio Casino in an audacious armed robbery on Dec. 14, 2010.

Carleo, who is accused of robbing a craps table while brandishing a pistol and wearing a motorcycle helmet, lost about $105,000 of the money he allegedly stole gambling at the Bellagio over the next month, according to a police arrest report.

Carleo lost $73,000 gambling at the resort on New Year's Eve, police said, and spent a week at the casino in late January, leaving just a handful of times and receiving complimentary meals, drinks and rooms on account of his high-stakes gambling.

Carleo is accused of making off with a number of $25,000 chips, nicknamed cranberries for their red color. In an effort to force the thief to reveal himself, the casino announced it would stop honoring those chips in April, leading Carleo on a frenzy to gamble and sell the stolen pieces.

Carleo first tipped cops off to his location when he dropped one $25,000 chip in a Salvation Army donation kettle, according to police.

Days later using the handle "Oceanspray 25" -- a wink to the "cranberry" chips -- Carleo allegedly tried selling the chips on a popular poker Website. An e-mail to one user to arrange a sale eventually led cops to the alleged thief, according to the report.

According to the arrest report, police met Carleo at the hotel where he sold five $25,000 chips to an undercover police officer and admitted to robbing the Bellagio.

Police said Carleo did not resist arrest and officers recovered $1.3 million in chips.

'Heartbroken,' Says Suspect's Father, a Judge

Carleo's father, Las Vegas Municipal Court Judge George Assad, said in a statement he was "devastated and heartbroken to see my son arrested under these circumstances."

Assad said that as a judge, he couldn't comment about "any pending legal matter as it relates to anyone, including my son."

"I can say that as a prosecutor and a judge, I have always felt people who break the law need to be held accountable," he said in the statement.

In 2009, Carleo, a former real estate broker, declared bankruptcy in Colorado saying he owed $188,000 in debts.

He was arrested late Wednesday night and a judge set bail Thursday at $15,000. Another judge will review the case today, but he is not expected again in court until Monday.

He has not yet obtained a lawyer.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.