Indiana State Police will investigate a trooper who was ticketed during a raid on Northeastside poker club.
Trooper Kyle D. Freeman, 30, a seven-year veteran assigned to the Indianapolis Post was cited for unlawful gambling, a misdemeanor. Freeman was put on administrative duties and an internal investigation will be conducted, state police announced today in a press release.
Indianapolis metropolitan police raided the Indianapolis Pinnacle Club at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday in the 3900 block of Pendleton Way after a year-long vice investigation into illegal gambling.
Police arrested three men - one who had a firearm in his boot - and issued summons arrests to 60 people – including Freeman -- for illegal gambling. Players ranged in ages from 18 to 70, were males and females and reside in Marion, Hancock, Morgan, and Hamilton counties, police said.
About $6,000 was seized from the establishment, in addition to poker chips, computers, flat screens and other gambling paraphernalia.
Police said it appears the poker club ran games seven days a week.
The club was the target of an armed robbery last week.
Two men, one armed with an "Uzi-style" automatic handgun, robbed the Indianapolis Pinnacle Club at about 3:30 a.m. on March 6, according to a police report. The armed suspect struck club owner Ryan Roe in the face with the gun, polcie said. The robbers got away with $11,700, police said.
Patrons pay a membership fee, in addition to paying to play on any given evening. The building is just south of East Pendleton Pike and just west of I-465, on the Northeastside.
The three outright arrests were of: Roe, 36, for promoting professional gambling, a felony; Donald Kincaid, 65, for illegal gambling and carrying a firearm without a license; and Richard Harvey, 28, for illegal gambling and a civil contempt warrant.
Indianapolis police were right to raid the illegal poker club and make the appropriate arrests. You may recall a similar raid last year of a westside poker club at which TV news cameras watched from the air as police conducted the raid. It remains a curiosity, however, why the city police have now had two highly-publicized raids of poker clubs operated by Caucasians, while it continues to ignore numerous pea shake houses, which are operated illegally by African-Americans in some of the city's poorer neighborhoods. Unlike these two poker clubs, surrounding neighbors weren't complaining about the public nuisance created by the pea-shake houses, including increased traffic and noise in residential areas, guns, drugs and prostitution. I guess the pea shake house benefit from the prominent African-American politicians who speak out in their defense. You don't see any prominent politicians defending the illegal poker clubs do you?
16 comments:
The poker club operators haven't figured out your supposed to slip money under the table to the local politicians to protect your game from police raids.
You're exactly right 11:43 AM
"It just a poker club. I know it be illegal but no hurt nobody!"
Anon 11:43,
You're close but a little bit off target if you want to get it done right.
What these folks failed to do was to approach a finance institution with a promise to maintain a minimum balance in their accounts. The bank already has the political connections and they can then pay more money in pay-offs than the actual gambling even makes in profits by virtue of our fractional banking system.
That's the best way to turn a profit and that's why these poker houses failed to keep themselves protected. They were smart, but not smart enough. If you want to thrive in illegal enterprises like gambling and illegal drugs, it's imperative that you form a relationship with legitimate finance. That's the only way to keep yourself protected and profittable. Just look at the Peashakes - they do it right.
I seriusly doubt any money from peashakes, or this poker house, makes it to a legitimate financial institution. Cash transactions are very closely monitored these days.
qqdmkczHookers don't hang around a poker room. Drug dealers don't hang around poker rooms. Most neighbors have no idea a game is happening. Can’t say that about pea shakes.
Bust a poker room and all the equipment goes chips, tables, TVs, automobiles and the cash.
Bust a pea shake, two hours later they are open again with just a ticket being issued.
"I guess the pea shake house benefit from the prominent African-American politicians who speak out in their defense. You don't see any prominent politicians defending the illegal poker clubs do you?"
Actually Gary, Carl Brizzi said something to the effect that he believed gambling arrests to be "silly". I'll have to see if I can find the exact quote.
From the Star (2/25/07): http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070225/LOCAL/702250455/1199/LOCAL1804&template=printart
Marion County Prosecutor Carl Brizzi said the police bring few illegal gambling cases to his office. Laws are inconsistent, he said, allowing some forms of gambling while outlawing others, such as pea shakes and sports pools.
"Why is the lottery OK, and a card game is not OK?" he asked. "I think that ought to be changed. It's silly."
I'm listening shorebreak. Grasshopper has much to learn from the master. Someday I will be able to snatch the pebble from your hand and will have learned well.
Honestly, I think part of the raid was to actually protect the patrons of this place. Sorry, but the fact is that if a group of five or six individuals pulled a home invasion style robbery and killed four people, no one would really care. However, if just the owner was jacked for $11K, I wouldn't be surprised if some local gang bangers had not at least thought about getting seven or ten guys together to try to basically knock over a casino.
I agree with you about the pea shakes. I wonder if the pea shakes shouldn't start worrying about state law enforcement? The trooper that was cited is a really good guy. In fact, it has been said that a lot of cops had been to this place. Just bad timing in on the officers part. However, since IMPD wants to play affirmative action with gaming laws, maybe the state should step in and shut all these places down: Card games and pea shakes? Also, remember that government wants money. If they think that tens of millions are going untaxed, they might eventually do something about it. Personally, I think this shows a need for a legal casino in the Indy area. A lot of folks that went to this place were not broke people. Imagine the tax income an Indy area casino might draw. I guess a relative of mine went to this place over a year ago. The guy who took him said it had been open for at least a year before that. This place has been up and running for at least two years. Wonder how many complaints of drugs, traffic, shots fired, and prostitution this place has? Likey none. Of course Amos Brown was quick to try to paint this place the same as a pea shakes house.
This poker club was getting into the Texas Hold 'Em craze. If I understand the rules of the house correctly the proprietor takes a percentage off the winning pot(s) for his providing the venue. To buy into a game with only $100 worth of chips I'd say the games were by no means high stakes but I could be wrong. Nevertheless the proprietor was by no means raking in tons of cash because of the way the thing was set up. Still illegal but by no means comparable to illegal numbers racketeering (pea shake).
The shake houses are franchises. A person wants to open a shake house they apply to a middleman for the syndicate who then takes the app to one or a group of people who run the entire operation. If a franchise is granted then the franchisee who runs the house is cut a modest percentage of the total handle. The rest of the money goes back to the head(s) of the syndicate minus any payout.
Pea shake houses in Indianapolis are involved in racketeering, a solo poker club is not even remotely on that level.
The Feds would not waste their time on a Texas Hold 'Em poker club but they sure are concerned with numbers racketeering ran by a syndicate. In short, Pea Shake Houses are ran by organized crime. The question is: Just exactly who is at the top of the numbers racket syndicate in Indianapolis?
Somebody out there knows something and I don't believe it's the usual suspects.
My money says Carl Brizzi knows who is at the top. Would Carl like to testify before a Grand Jury when it comes to that?
Corruption is so open and rampant in Indianapolis that they could do a reality tv show on it and still no one would get arrested.
"Sorry, but the fact is that if a group of five or six individuals pulled a home invasion style robbery and killed four people, no one would really care. However, if just the owner was jacked for $11K, I wouldn't be surprised if some local gang bangers had not at least thought about getting seven or ten guys together to try to basically knock over a casino."
Opps. My main issue was that if a pea shakes home got robbed and folks killed, I don't think public outcry would be that loud. I also think you would be limited in the amount of folks that could get hurt. From what I understand about this card place, they had lots more people. It could have been a really bad situation if someone tried to pull a heist.
Anonymous said...
I seriusly doubt any money from peashakes, or this poker house, makes it to a legitimate financial institution. Cash transactions are very closely monitored these days.
2:56 PM EST
I understand your inclination to believe this, but unfortunately you are only half correct. Yes, financial transactions are closely monitored, but no, that doesn't mean that finacial institutions will be exposed by authorities.
For example, in recent months several banks including Bank of New York and Bank of America have been exposed for harboring billions of dollars in drug money and in funds siphoned out of former Soviet states. That's just two cases of VERY large findings that each went relatively unpunished - in the case of billions sheltered by BoNY the punishment was a verbal slap. In the case of 100's of millions in drug money sheltered by BoA the fine was $7 million and no additional repercussions or monitoring. The profits generated by holding that cash paid for the fine hundreds of times over.
Consider this - in the US the estimated annual profits from imported drug sales exceeds $500 billion dollars. If there are 10,000 major drug suppliers moving contraband, that equates to 10,000 individuals hiding $50 million dollars each - per year. Do you think it's possible for such an industry to exist without federal knowledge - even if the estimates are wrong by an order of ten?
The problem is that most people don't look at the figures and carry out the logic process necessary to comprehend what MUST be taking place to allow this kind of illicit business to continue.
Who stands to profit most? The banks who operate under a fractional banking system. And who is appointed to the SEC to oversee the banks? Former bank CEO's who are bribed 10's of millions of dollars in corporate bonus's every year to keep the money flowing.
It sounds like a tinfoil hat conspiracy theory, but you need to do the math. You need to look at the numbers. And you need to watch the news and Congress. How does BoNY get away with NO FINE OR CHARGES after the SEC finds them guilty of sheltering BILLIONS of dollars in laundered money?
It's called a wink and a handshake. Same goes for the peashakes. Winks, handshakes, and someone with enough pull to keep authorities and the media away. $30 million a year in sheltered money translates to at least $300 million a year for a bank.
I don't have facts regarding the peashakes, but the facts in 100's of other cases establish the pattern. Same pattern means that I'm 99.99% certain that the peashakes are part of the same laundering for profit scheme.
Now ask yourself why Justice has been watching for 3 years yet hasn't moved. Tinfoil hat? On the surface it would seem so. But when you look at the figures and past history, it would be very foolish to discard relavant fact in order to convince yourself that our system is working in our best interests. Even Congress has reported extensive DOJ involvement in HAMPERING laundering operations.
What about the office pools. NCAA basketball finals create another form of illegal gambling. Will the police raid corporate offices this week while employees are placing their bets on the board?
Anonymous said...
What about the office pools. NCAA basketball finals create another form of illegal gambling. Will the police raid corporate offices this week while employees are placing their bets on the board?
6:58 AM EST
Non sequitur.
I realy feel for the gamblers in the US. I cant beleive the US Congress banned all banks and credit card companies from accepting transactions from online gambling sites which makes Us gamblers unable to play online poker. What a bunch of hypocrites the US state government are. They have the largest gambling operations with lotto, keno, etc. If they truly believed their rhetoric about internet gambling they would cut out the state operations also. And now they are bringing in a law to legalise slot machines. Personally I would have a big grudge against any party that stopped me from playing on an online poker site. I think there must be some way for the Us gamblers to get around this problem. Must make you wonder if you the US Citizens are living in the land of the free when it seems the government has full control on what it will and wont let them do.
I agree with the comment above, these politicians are also behind the casinos and gambling operations. When will all the gamblers have freedom? Not only in US but to other countries as well where most people play poker and you know this is a very addictive game.
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