Charlie 'Atong' Ang, an associate of deposed president Joseph Estrada was arrested by U.S. federal agents in Las Vegas, Nevada, ending months of manhunt after he escaped being indicted for graft charges in the Philippines.

According to the Department of Foreign Affairs in Manila, Ang did not resist arrest when the U.S. Marshalls accosted him while playing inside a casino in a posh hotel in Nevada.

DFA spokesman Victoriano Lecaros said Ang is being considered an illegal alien in the U.S. since the his Philippine passport was cancelled by Manila last February.

The Department of Justice had also requested the U.S. Attorney General's Office for the extradition of Ang and Yolanda Ricaforte, who were named co-respondents in the plunder case against Estrada. Both Ang and Ricaforte fled to the U.S. at the height of an uprising in January that ousted Estrada.

Former llocos Sur provincial governor Luis Singson, in his testimony during the impeachment trial against Estrada December last year, had earlier implicated Ang in an alleged scheme to defraud the government.

Singson said Ang served as the conduit in diverting some P270 million ($5.2 million) in proceeds from tobacco taxes owned by the llocos Sur provincial government to Estrada in September 1999.

Ang, a known casino high-roller, has also been accused by Singson of masterminding a devious scheme to legalise the underground lottery operations called "jueteng".

Estrada and Ang, as well as Singson, reaped millions of pesos every month from engaging in underground lottery operations and from protection money given by other jueteng operators, according to the former Ilocos Sur official.

Ricaforte, who was tagged by Singson as the alleged personal auditor of Estrada in all jueteng proceeds, remains at large.

Ang was arrested inside Las Vegas' Paris Hotel Sunday. Ang was able to get an American lawyer who filed a petition to post bail in the U.S. district court of Las Vegas.

But the Las Vegas judge denied him bail. Lecaros said Ang is not expected to be extradited to the Philippines soon since a hearing will be set if he can be extradited under an existing treaty.