Felony Pleas Obtained In Bingo Scam

Attorney General Spitzer today announced that two Western New Yorkers have pleaded guilty in a securities fraud case involving speculative shares of a company that manufactured supplies for bingo games.The two men -- Joseph

Kalczynski, 46, of Lancaster and Kenneth Canzoneri, 41, of North Tonawanda -- each pled guilty to one count of Scheme to Defraud in the First Degree, a class E felony, punishable by up to four years imprisonment.

"Investors can easily fall prey to those who use false and misleading information to promote stock offerings," Spitzer said. "My office is committed to combating these scams."

Kalczynski and Canzoneri were accused of operating a scam that duped at least 400 New Yorkers into purchasing $2 million worth of unregistered stock in a company they created. The company, International Global Inventions, founded subsidiaries to manufacture double-headed bingo dabbers, an invention the two men predicted would be a rage with millions of bingo players across the nation.

Some of the false sales pitches used by Kalcynski and Canzoneri to lure investors included:

• Representing that the product was already manufactured and market-ready when, in fact, it was not;
• Stating that they had advance orders for millions of dabbers from major distributors of bingo products when, in fact, they had none; and
• Using deceptive projected financial statements to convince investors that they'd be reaping significant profits of as much as 300 percent a year within one year of investing.

The defendants actively solicited purchasers for securities of Tri-Crown Inc., D & D Enterprises, Inc., and The Fish Company of Erie County, Inc. - all of Main Street in Williamsville - between late 1997 and September 2000.

New York State Supreme Court Justice John F. O'Donnell accepted the pleas and adjourned the case for sentencing.

This case is being handled by Assistant Attorney General Dennis Rosen and Investigator Harold Frank of the Buffalo Regional Office.