> I had a close family member who spent the end of his life in the Federal custody for being part of it, and he wasn't even 'big time'. This was not long ago.

> I had a close family member who spent the end of his life in the Federal custody for being part of it, and he wasn't even 'big time'. This was not long ago. Very much so. I've known of people (actual people, not urban legends) who were working as small-time bookies in college (bets under $100, mostly). One started to take bets from non-students and for larger sums. After a few weeks, he got a call from the FBI. They told him it was just a courtesy call to let him know that 1) they knew about him and 2) he was starting to deal with some very very serious organized crime people, so perhaps his wisest choice would be pay out any bets he had taken so far, return any bets that he could, and hang up his hat before he ended up in prison or the ground.