SANTA ANA, Calif.—Nine people have been charged in connection with a crackdown on illegal gambling, extortion, and drug trafficking in Santa Ana, according to federal indictments unsealed Wednesday.
Five defendants were arrested Wednesday morning. Two others were arrested Tuesday afternoon. Two others are at-large.
Four defendants charged with conspiracy and operating an illegal gambling business are accused of operating the illegal casinos in Santa Ana: Niem Ngoc Ha, 46, of Fountain Valley, who is accused of opening and running four casinos, known as “nets” or “slaphouses”
Mindy Bui, 36, of Westminster, who allegedly managed the casinos
Honganh Thi Pham, 40, of Garden Grove, another alleged manager
Sammy Cardona, 36, of Santa Ana, who is at-large and is accused of being an enforcer Ha is also charged with paying a $128,000 bribe to convicted former Santa Ana Police Officer Steven Lopez, who tipped Ha to a raid in September 2020 and is awaiting sentencing on Oct. 17, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office….