{"id":218499,"date":"2022-06-22T16:29:19","date_gmt":"2022-06-22T23:29:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=218499"},"modified":"2022-06-22T17:03:24","modified_gmt":"2022-06-23T00:03:24","slug":"prison-for-gambling-couple-who-kept-42-slaves-in-uk","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/prison-for-gambling-couple-who-kept-42-slaves-in-uk\/","title":{"rendered":"Gambling Couple Who Kept 42 \u2018Slaves\u2019 in UK Headed to Prison"},"content":{"rendered":"

A couple who preyed on vulnerable Slovakian men, trafficking<\/a> them to the UK to work as modern-day \u201cslaves\u201d in their car wash business, were handed hefty prison sentences Wednesday.<\/p>\n

\"Joanna
Gamblers Joanna Gomulska and Marcos Tancos at their car wash in Bristol, where they employed slave labor, according to a jury. (Image: Sky News)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Marcos Tancos, 45, and Joanna Gomulska, 46, spent most of the money they earned from their human trafficking<\/a> operations on gambling, prosecutors said. They recruited their 42 victims from care homes and orphanages in Slovakia, promising them lucrative work and a better life in the UK, according to court documents.<\/p>\n

But the men were forced to work for nothing at Tancos\u2019 car wash in Bristol, England, and at other menial jobs for 12 hours a day, seven days a week. On arrival, their identity documents, bank cards, and phones were confiscated. They were locked in cramped, filthy conditions, sleeping on dirty bedding and mattresses.<\/p>\n

Treated \u2018Like Cattle\u2019<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The couple coerced the men into opening new bank accounts, which they used to apply for loans and credit cards in their victims\u2019 names. The defendants obtained around \u00a3300,000 ($368,000) in this way, which they splurged at gaming tables and loaded onto online casinos.<\/p>\n

Prosecutors said Tancos would physically and verbally abuse the men into submission. Meanwhile, Gomuslka would pretend to be looking out for their interests. But this was all for show, said Judge Martin Picton.<\/a><\/p>\n

You gave the appearance of having some insight and some sympathy, but your experience did not deter you from supporting your partner in what you knew full well was a criminal enterprise,\u201d <\/strong>he told Gomuslka. \u201cYou had choices and you made the wrong ones.<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u201cYou identified potential victims by reference to their circumstances, their financial and social vulnerability \u2013 people with little by way of alternative,\u201d he said, addressing both defendants.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe victims had cash value to you in the same way cattle would to a farmer,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Could be More Victims<\/strong><\/h2>\n

In April, a jury in Bristol Crown Court convicted the couple of nine charges related to human trafficking and forced labor, and one count of conspiracy to acquire criminal property. On Wednesday, Picton sentenced Tancos and Gomulska to 16 years and nine years, respectively.<\/p>\n

The UK\u2019s National Crime Agency was alerted to the situation after a victim managed to return to Slovakia and inform authorities there of the couple\u2019s activities.<\/p>\n

\n

UK and Slovakian law enforcement tracked down 42 victims, 29 of whom were prepared to give evidence. Police believe there could be many more victims whom they have been unable to trace.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cGaining the victims\u2019 confidence has been fundamental to this case, and a significant amount of work went in to caring for, and engaging with them, throughout the process,\u201d said chief prosecutor, Ruona Iguyovwe, in a statement. \u201cI commend every person who testified for their bravery.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A couple who preyed on vulnerable Slovakian men, trafficking them to the UK to work as modern-day \u201cslaves\u201d in their car wash business, were handed hefty prison sentences Wednesday. Marcos Tancos, 45, and Joanna Gomulska, 46, spent most of the money they earned from their human trafficking operations on gambling, prosecutors said. They recruited their […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":36,"featured_media":218500,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[62],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nPrison for Gambling Couple Who Kept 42 \u2018Slaves\u2019 in UK<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Marcos Tancos and Joanna Gomulska convicted of luring vulnerable Slovakian men to England to work as car wash slaves.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Prison for Gambling Couple Who Kept 42 \u2018Slaves\u2019 in UK\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Marcos Tancos and Joanna Gomulska convicted of luring vulnerable Slovakian men to England to work as car wash slaves.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/prison-for-gambling-couple-who-kept-42-slaves-in-uk\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Casino.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Casino.OrgNews\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-06-22T23:29:19+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-06-23T00:03:24+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/slaves.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1858\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1142\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Philip Conneller\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@casinoorgphilc\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Casino_Org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Philip Conneller\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/prison-for-gambling-couple-who-kept-42-slaves-in-uk\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/prison-for-gambling-couple-who-kept-42-slaves-in-uk\/\",\"name\":\"Prison for Gambling Couple Who Kept 42 \u2018Slaves\u2019 in UK\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/prison-for-gambling-couple-who-kept-42-slaves-in-uk\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/prison-for-gambling-couple-who-kept-42-slaves-in-uk\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/slaves.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-06-22T23:29:19+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-06-23T00:03:24+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/58769b72851c8cf117fb58ca150ebf8b\"},\"description\":\"Marcos Tancos and Joanna Gomulska convicted of luring vulnerable Slovakian men to England to work as car wash slaves.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/prison-for-gambling-couple-who-kept-42-slaves-in-uk\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/prison-for-gambling-couple-who-kept-42-slaves-in-uk\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/prison-for-gambling-couple-who-kept-42-slaves-in-uk\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/slaves.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/slaves.jpg\",\"width\":1858,\"height\":1142,\"caption\":\"Gamblers Joanna Gomulska and Marcos Tancos at their car wash in Bristol, where they employed slave labor, according to a jury. (Image: Sky News)\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/prison-for-gambling-couple-who-kept-42-slaves-in-uk\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"News\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Gambling Couple Who Kept 42 \u2018Slaves\u2019 in UK Headed to Prison\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/\",\"name\":\"Casino.org\",\"description\":\"Latest Casino and Gaming News\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/58769b72851c8cf117fb58ca150ebf8b\",\"name\":\"Philip Conneller\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/cropped-5-1-96x96.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/cropped-5-1-96x96.png\",\"caption\":\"Philip Conneller\"},\"description\":\"In Philip Conneller\u2019s eight years with Casino.org, he has covered the gaming industry from Las Vegas to Macau and everything in between. He currently focuses his coverage on gaming law, white-collar crime, global money laundering, tribal gaming, politics, and regulation. Philip was the original features editor for poker\u2019s Bluff Magazine and editor for Bluff Europe, which he helped launch. His writing has also been featured in ESPN, Forbes, Time Out, The Sun, and The Daily Star, as well as iGaming Business, eGaming Review, and numerous other industry news and tech websites. His news stories for Casino.org\/news have been linked by The Washington Post, The Daily Mail, People Magazine, and Jimmy Fallon's Tonight Show, among many others. Philip once won $20,000 with 7-2 off-suit. He has been reprimanded for unwittingly playing Elton John\u2019s piano on two separate occasions on both sides of the Atlantic. He became a writer because he is a lousy pianist. Philip lives outside London with his wife and children, where he spends his time agonizing about Arsenal FC. Contact Philip at philip.conneller@casino.org.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/muckrack.com\/philip-conneller\",\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/philip-conneller-1495a48\/?originalSubdomain=uk\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/casinoorgphilc\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/author\/phillip-conneller\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Prison for Gambling Couple Who Kept 42 \u2018Slaves\u2019 in UK","description":"Marcos Tancos and Joanna Gomulska convicted of luring vulnerable Slovakian men to England to work as car wash slaves.","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"follow"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Prison for Gambling Couple Who Kept 42 \u2018Slaves\u2019 in UK","og_description":"Marcos Tancos and Joanna Gomulska convicted of luring vulnerable Slovakian men to England to work as car wash slaves.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/prison-for-gambling-couple-who-kept-42-slaves-in-uk\/","og_site_name":"Casino.org","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Casino.OrgNews","article_published_time":"2022-06-22T23:29:19+00:00","article_modified_time":"2022-06-23T00:03:24+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1858,"height":1142,"url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/slaves.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Philip Conneller","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@casinoorgphilc","twitter_site":"@Casino_Org","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Philip Conneller","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/prison-for-gambling-couple-who-kept-42-slaves-in-uk\/","url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/prison-for-gambling-couple-who-kept-42-slaves-in-uk\/","name":"Prison for Gambling Couple Who Kept 42 \u2018Slaves\u2019 in UK","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/prison-for-gambling-couple-who-kept-42-slaves-in-uk\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/prison-for-gambling-couple-who-kept-42-slaves-in-uk\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/slaves.jpg","datePublished":"2022-06-22T23:29:19+00:00","dateModified":"2022-06-23T00:03:24+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/58769b72851c8cf117fb58ca150ebf8b"},"description":"Marcos Tancos and Joanna Gomulska convicted of luring vulnerable Slovakian men to England to work as car wash slaves.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/prison-for-gambling-couple-who-kept-42-slaves-in-uk\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/prison-for-gambling-couple-who-kept-42-slaves-in-uk\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/prison-for-gambling-couple-who-kept-42-slaves-in-uk\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/slaves.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/slaves.jpg","width":1858,"height":1142,"caption":"Gamblers Joanna Gomulska and Marcos Tancos at their car wash in Bristol, where they employed slave labor, according to a jury. (Image: Sky News)"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/prison-for-gambling-couple-who-kept-42-slaves-in-uk\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"News","item":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Gambling Couple Who Kept 42 \u2018Slaves\u2019 in UK Headed to Prison"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/","name":"Casino.org","description":"Latest Casino and Gaming News","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/58769b72851c8cf117fb58ca150ebf8b","name":"Philip Conneller","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/cropped-5-1-96x96.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/cropped-5-1-96x96.png","caption":"Philip Conneller"},"description":"In Philip Conneller\u2019s eight years with Casino.org, he has covered the gaming industry from Las Vegas to Macau and everything in between. He currently focuses his coverage on gaming law, white-collar crime, global money laundering, tribal gaming, politics, and regulation. Philip was the original features editor for poker\u2019s Bluff Magazine and editor for Bluff Europe, which he helped launch. His writing has also been featured in ESPN, Forbes, Time Out, The Sun, and The Daily Star, as well as iGaming Business, eGaming Review, and numerous other industry news and tech websites. His news stories for Casino.org\/news have been linked by The Washington Post, The Daily Mail, People Magazine, and Jimmy Fallon's Tonight Show, among many others. Philip once won $20,000 with 7-2 off-suit. He has been reprimanded for unwittingly playing Elton John\u2019s piano on two separate occasions on both sides of the Atlantic. He became a writer because he is a lousy pianist. Philip lives outside London with his wife and children, where he spends his time agonizing about Arsenal FC. Contact Philip at philip.conneller@casino.org.","sameAs":["https:\/\/muckrack.com\/philip-conneller","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/philip-conneller-1495a48\/?originalSubdomain=uk","https:\/\/x.com\/casinoorgphilc"],"url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/author\/phillip-conneller\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/218499"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/36"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=218499"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/218499\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/218500"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=218499"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=218499"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=218499"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}