“Boomer and Carton” co-host Craig Carton was arrested by feds Wednesday morning on charges he ripped off millions of dollars from investors by peddling bogus concert tickets in order to cover his own gambling debts, according to court papers. Carton, 48, and business partner Joseph Meli are accused of running a Ponzi scheme in which they used funds from new investors to repay earlier investors and other debts, according to the complaint filed by the US Securities and Exchange Commission. Together, Carton and Meli, a 43-year-old event promoter, ripped off at least $3.6 million from two investors, while on his own, Carton misappropriated another $2 million from one of the same two investors….
….Carton turned to the ticket scam in the middle of 2016 as a result of accruing “millions of dollars’ worth of gambling-related debts to casinos and other third parties,” according to court papers. In a Sept. 7, 2016, email to Meli and another associate, Carton wrote that he was “around $3 M in the whole [sic]” and that he “risked and lost $700 of investor money” — referring to a $700,000 loss — and that he “owed [$825,000] ASAP” to the person. He also indicated that he owed “a total of $500 on the 12th” to two casinos, referring to a $500,000 debt, the complaint detailed. H/T – New York Post
THREE MILLION FUCKING DOLLARS. This is just another case of proof at how little we really know about what people have behind the curtains. On the surface, Carton pretty much had it all. Top show in the top market in the country. A position you imagine comes along with at minimum a middle tier 6 figure salary. So naturally, the first question is, why? Anddddd then you see the kicker. The three million dollar kicker. It’s no surprise or secret that Carton was a degenerate gambler. Not a successful one either. At least that would be my estimation listening to his picks and thoughts over the years.
What I don’t understand is how you rack up a $3M gambling debt? First, how do you lose that much? How do you not stay the course and bet within your means? Sure, any asshole Joe Schmoe could go 35% on the year. But if you’re not an idiot, that 35% can only result in a loss of a few hundred or thousand, not 3 god damn million! Second, how do you rack up that much debt in total value, regardless of who you are? I’m not a loan shark, or a mobster or a bookie (yet) but it seems like cement shoes and a date with a fish at the bottom of the Hudson River is perfectly in order once that shit hits 6 figures.
I guess trying to become the Bernie Madoff of the ticket world has its privileges. The real sad story here isn’t Carton though, it isn’t the celebrity radio host who lost it all. With millions of fans and notoriety. And it’s not the investors who lost their money. For me, the ones I’m sad for, are the bookies. Because they’ll never get that money back they lost for doing their job or the satisfaction of introducing Carton to the Mermaid at the bottom of the East River.
Really hoping they send Carton to the same prison as Madoff. That would be the cigarette Ponzi scheme showdown of the century. They could make a show out of it, and call it “Behind Bar Knocks.”
