Six men from Albany, Georgia have been indicted after being accused of running an illegal gambling game in the state. 12 other men face misdemeanor charges.
Six men from Albany, Georgia have been indicted by a Dougherty County grand jury, after being accused in the summer of illegal gambling, and now prepare to have their slap on the wrist doled out by the court.
18 people were arrested on 2 June 2014 by agents of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) during a raid on a property known as the ‘River House’ at 2650 N. Jefferson St., Albany. 12 people, including former Albany mayor, Willie Adams Jr., have escaped much of the wrath of the court, and will only face misdemeanor charges for illegal gambling, whilst six of them will feel the brunt of the heat.
Robert Brooks, Todd Kegler, Rick Wagner, Daniel Gloria, Jim Phelps and Brian Hatcher face tougher sanctions because they were found to have played an ‘integral part in the operation of the gambling house.’ Brooks, Kegler and Wagner were indicted on two counts of commercial gambling, with Gloria, Phelps and Hatcher facing one count of commercial gambling.
So what constitutes an ‘integral part of a gambling operation?’
The madness of the US legal system rears its ridiculous looking head once again as Brooks is indicted because he owned the building, Kegler acted as the middle man for the financial transactions, Wagner brought the drinks and sandwiches, Gloria took out the trash, and Hatcher brought the poker chips.
Don’t they have some serial killers to catch or something?
According to the GBI, two firearms, and $20,000 in cash were seized during the raid.
“Some people may have thought it was out of line to break up a little gambling party,” Greg Edwards, Dougherty County district attorney told The Albany Herald at the time of the arrests, “But there was quite a lot of money at that game. Gambling is illegal and we do prosecute for that.”
The Albany Herald stated that the defendants will be arraigned sometime in the next three months. Each criminal mastermind will get the opportunity to make a formal plea.
The comments swinging below The Albany Herald piece range from ‘An absurd waste of government money and resources,” to “The cops need to be patrolling the streets of Albany and arresting criminals, not hunting down poker players.”
Here, here.
