Judge's son nabbed in casino heists

LAS VEGAS -- The security footage of the man in a motorcycle helmet and a gun, dashing into a posh Las Vegas Strip casino and making off with $1.5 million in chips, went viral on the Internet. Now, after nearly two months, police believe they have their man -- a former real estate broker who went bankrupt in 2009 and is related to a Sin City judge.

Anthony M. Carleo, 29, was arrested early Thursday after police accused him of being the bandit who grabbed the chips in the Dec. 14 brazen heist at the Bellagio hotel-casino. Police had said they believed the same man robbed the Suncoast casino in northwest Las Vegas early Dec. 8.

"It goes without saying that as a father, I am devastated and heartbroken to see my son arrested under these circumstances, as is the rest of his family," Las Vegas Municipal Court Judge George Assad said in a statement released through a publicist.

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

Court records showed Carleo filed for bankruptcy in Colorado in May 2009, listing among his personal belongings a .40-caliber Taurus pistol.

The bankruptcy filing said Carleo received at least $19,000 from his father over a three year period but owed nearly $188,000 in various debts.