After a month-long investigation, Spalding sherif Dee Stewart and his deputies conducted multiple gambling raids at convenience stores and other establishments. The full release from SCSO public information officer Tony Ranieri follows: A month long investigation into the illegal gambling operations going on in local businesses netted the arrest of 4 business owners and 4 clerks from 4 different locations. My office receives numerous complaints from different sources of peopled spending social security checks, retirement checks and other types of incomes into these machines, that the owners normally do not pay any taxes on said Sheriff Stewart. After a new court ruling last year into to the illegal “pay outs” from these machines, Sheriff Stewart instructed the Investigative Division to launch an investigation into the illegal gambling operations. According to Captain Tony Ranieri four businesses were inspected and arrest made from each business. Money from cash registers, game machines, cigar boxes and other types of boxes were seized as well as a total of 20 game machines. Georgia State Law states that it is illegal for any business owner to show a pay out of more than $5.00 and that pay out cannot be in the form of currency, firearms, tobacco products, alcohol or lottery items. Businesses cannot provide gift certificates and allow the certificate to pay out on any of those items, if they do they have commited the offense of Commercial Gambling which is a felony in the State of Georgia according to Ranieri. The following arrest were made from the businesses named: 390 Airport Road Owner Harshad Savalia 40 yo Charged Commercial Gambling and Keeping a Gambling House Clerk Katherine Krepps 19 yo Charged Commercial Gambling 2295 N. Expressway Owner Afrozabdul Shakoor Charged Commercial Gambling and Keeping a Gambling House Clerk Tiffany Darby 26 yo Charged Commercial Gambling 1707 N. Expressway Owner Antonio Akl 58 yo Charged Commercial Gambling and Keeping a Gambling House Warrants are pending on the bar tender 133 E. Taylor Street Owner Pyush Patel 46 yo Charged Commercial Gambling and Keeping a Gambling House Clerk Yoesh Kisher Dongrikai 25 yo Commercial Gambling Warrants are pending on the second clerk Each charge is a felony punishable by no more than 10 years in prison and a fine for each charge and each count.
Be First to Comment