Phil Mickelson Stiffed In 2007 By A Mob-Connected Bookie?

Of course it’s no secret that Phil Mickelson has a propensity to gamble and with that in mind, it seems the Detroit Free Press, the daily rag up there in Mo-Town, decided to turn over an old, moss-covered Mickelson rock that linked Lefty to a local bookie with ties to the mob.

Back in 2007, there was a racketeering trial that featured one Jack Giacalone as the defendant, an alleged major organized crime Goomba in Motor City.  One of the witnesses in that trial was a seedy character — Dandy Don DeSerrano, who just happened to be the short-term investment broker (aka bookie) who was once a Vegas casino host from 1994-2002.

Seems the Free Press dug up some previously unreported transcripts from that trial.

Dandy Don was given immunity by Federal prosecutors and used him as a witness against Giacalone.

When Dandy Don took the stand, Giacalone’s barristers began a round of questioning that revealed ties between Mickelson and bookie DeSerrano.

Seems the Giacalone attorneys found out that Dandy Don stiffed Lefty out of some serious gambling winnings to the tune of $500,000.

Here’s how the trial transcripts read:

Neil Fink (Giacalone lawyer):  “Did you cheat — do you know Phil Mickelson, the golfer?” 

Dandy Don:  “Yes.” 

Fink:  “Did you cheat him out of $500,000?” 

Dandy Don:  “I wouldn’t say I cheated him.”  

Fink: “What would you call it?  What did you do?”

Dandy Don:  “I couldn’t pay him.”

Fink:  “You booked his action, correct?” 

Dandy Don:  “Yes.”

Fink’s strategy worked.  Giacalone was found “not guilty” two days after Dandy Don’s testimony.

It appears those transcripts turned up in May of this year and Giacalone is in hot water with the Feds again, this time he’s on the hook for an overdue federal tax bill of $537,222.

While Lefty’s name came out this week, it’s certainly no news that Mickelson has had a seedy gambling history.

Phil’s lawyer, Glenn Cohen came to his client’s defense this week.

“Phil and a bunch of his buddies back then were betting on sports, and Phil was the guy placing the bets,” Mickelson’s lawyer, Glenn Cohen, told The News on Tuesday. “They got (DeSeranno’s) name and had no idea what his background was. The guy didn’t pay him, Phil says it was a significant amount. He never got paid, and that was it.”

Cohen didn’t deny that Phil’s name came up in that 2007 trial.

“He didn’t say anything (in the story) that wasn’t true; I’m not complaining about that,” Cohen said of the Free Press reporter, Robert Snell.  “But why? Why are you going to embarrass Phil Mickelson when he’s there to support your tournament and the charities it supports and the Tour? Rocket Mortgage is a Detroit-based company. Phil has never played there before.  I’m disappointed they would curiously pick this week to write an article about a bet that was made over 20 years ago and a jury trial that took place in 2007, where the guy who was convicted is dead and where the only purpose for this article is to embarrass Phil Mickelson.”

Well, it’s not like Lefty doesn’t have a questionable history of ill-gotten gains.

Remember Dean Foods and Phil’s then-buddy Billy Walters?

Walters was convicted of insider trading violations and went to Federal prison back in 2017.

Mickelson, with the tips from Walters, began trading Dean Foods stock and pocketed more than $931,000.  Lefty’s ill-gotten gains were used as evidence against Walters but Phil didn’t testify at that trial — mainly because Phil’s lawyers told both the defense and prosecution in the Walters case that Lefty would basically plead the Fifth — as in the Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination.

The Feds termed Mickelson a “relief defendant” and basically forced him to give back the entire amount of the gain plus $100,000 in interest.  After he did that, Mickelson neither admitted or denied allegations in the SEC complaint against Walters.

Walters is a free man now.  He caught a break after being sent to the hooscow in 2017.  Thanks to COVID-19, he was released and he’s back at home in Carlsbad, Ca., and will serve out his sentence there, which ends in January of 2022.

Meanwhile, Lefty opened Thursday with a three-under par 69.  “I played really well.  I didn’t putt well,” Mickelson said after his work was done.

Later, when asked about the story in the Detroit Free Press, Lefty was pretty miffed about it.

“I feel that Rob Snell made an article this week that was very opportunistic and selfish and irresponsible,” Mickelson said.   “I just, you know, I was looking at some ways that my foundation might be able to get involved. When you have a divisive voice like that, you can’t bring people together, it’s very hard to bring people together, and that needs to change because the people here are great, but when that’s your voice, it’s hard for me or somebody to come in and bring other people and bring other entities involved to help out because you’re constantly being torn down as opposed to brought together and built up.

“It was so much effort for me to be here and to have that type of unnecessary attack. Not like I care, it happened 20-something years ago, it’s just the lack of appreciation. Yeah, I don’t see that happening. I don’t see me coming back. Not that I don’t love the people here and they haven’t been great, but not with that type of thing happening.”

So there you have it.  The Detroit Free Press gave Lefty a poke in his gambling gut and he didn’t like it.

Which means an “adios” from Phil Mickelson to the Rocket Mortgage and Detroit.