A federal court has indicted former Shelby County Deputy Sheriff, and World Series of Poker Circuit regular, Jeremy Drewery, 41, on a series of extortion rackets dating back to 2013.
There are many things I don’t understand about poker, but at the top of my list is why the game is illegal in so many parts of America? This morning I got a little taste of why that is.
I picked up a news story that a former Shelby County Deputy Sheriff is facing 30-years behind bars over two alleged counts of extortion while working in the County’s Narcotics Division between the periods 2013 -2016.
In August 2016, 41 year old, Jeremy Drewery, from Arlington, Tennessee, allegedly confiscated an unknown quantity of Oxycotin, Xanax, and 1,400 grams of marijuana during an everyday drug bust, but instead of processing the arrest through normal channels he cut a deal with the dealer.
The deal involved three separate payments of $2,000, $3,000 and $2,000 in return for the drug dealer’s freedom. But Netflix is having a profound effect on our young drug dealers and staring a possible blackmail for life problem the dealer called the FBI to explain his little pickle.
The FBI began an investigation and despite Drewery making last minute changes to agreed upon cash drop zones collected enough video and audio footage to make an arrest. Shelby County Police Department fired Drewery when in Nov 2016 he failed to show for a disciplinary hearing.
So what does this have to do with poker?
Well, local news sources, have stumbled across the fact that Drewery has won over $300,000 playing live tournaments, including some decent showings across the World Series of Poker Circuit (WSOPC).
More Charges Surface
The reason the case is just hitting the airwaves is that further FBI investigations have uncovered another case of extortion involving Drewery that occurred in 2013. The FBI hasn’t released any details other than to say it amounted to more than $5,000 in payments to Drewery.
The new charges mean Drewery faces 30-years behind bars. And jail is not a place a former cop wants to hang out, although I assume the poker games will be juicy. Fortunately, whenever I see a sign for a 30-year jail term they usually end up serving three months.
But the threat of jail hasn’t stopped Drewery from playing poker. In January, the former Deputy Sheriff cashed in two WSOPC side events in the Horseshoe Casino & Hotel in Tunica, finishing 40th and 14th.
The Horseshoe seems to be a happy stomping ground for Drewery. In 2015 he finished 5th in the $1,675 WSOPC Main Event and 6th a year later. He also made the final table of the WSOPC in Biloxi back in 2011 finishing 5th. His largest score to date came in 2010 when he was runner-up to Tyler Smith in a $5,000 buy-in event at the Gold Strike Casino Resort, Tunica for $80,502.
“It’s unclear if Drewery’s gambling has anything to do with the extortion accusations.” Wrote a reporter at WMC Action News.
It’s also unclear whether his other hobbies that involve knitting, kite surfing, and table tennis, have anything to do with the extortion accusations.
