Gary L. Rapp Jr, owner of local eatery It’s A wRapp was recently charged along with 10 other people with illegal tax evasion on a multi-million dollar sports betting website. Rapp faces charges of six counts of tax evasion, one count of conspiring to operate an illegal sports betting organization, one count of conspiring to commit money laundering, and two counts of money laundering. This has left many residents of Arlington with mixed feelings.  Arlington High School student and It’s A wRapp employee, Jackson Hair, was especially struck by this incident stating, “I never expected this to happen. Mr. Rapp was always so involved with the football team and always very kind.”

According to prosecutors, Mr. Rapp was either one of the founding members or a senior agent of the illegal sports gambling website. The illegal gambling website was known as “Red44” and was conducting illegal operations for 17 years. Throughout 2019 to 2021 alone, the indictment accumulated hundreds of millions dollars worth of betting from users, and owes an excise tax of more than $7 million to the Internal Revenue Services (IRS).

While owner Gary Rapp faces these legal issues, the commitment to keeping the local eatery running as normal is a high priority. Jackson Hair added, “The management is organized and professional, and business still seems to be booming. We continue to keep our restaurant and service to customers a top priority.”

Sources: arlingtonreport.com, wreg.com