Botched Investigation Allows Dozens To Walk Away From Pea Shake Busts

Botched warrants is being offered as the reason criminal charges are being dismissed against dozens charged in last year's pea shake houses initiated to fend off criticism that Mayor Bart Peterson was turning a blind eye to the illegal gambling houses in mostly-black neighborhoods. WRTV's Jack Reinhart reports on this outrage:

Charges against dozens accused of involvement in "pea shake" gambling in Indianapolis have been dropped because of errors in the warrants used to arrest
them last year, the Marion County prosecutor's office said.

The suspects were arrested during several police raids on what authorities said were illegal gambling operations in 2007. Since then, more than one judge has ruled the warrants that police used to enter buildings, gather evidence and make arrests had technical flaws, 6News' Jack Rinehart reported.

Details about those flaws weren't available. The prosecutor's office didn't say exactly how many people had charges dismissed, but it said the number could be more than 50.

Despite the dropped charges, the raids succeeded in closing the operations, and police officers will try to ensure they remain closed, said Indianapolis Deputy Police Chief John Conley.

"Any attempts by those people ... to reopen and go back to doing what they were doing before, they're going to find themselves in jail again," Conley said.

There you have it, folks. It's been going on for decades, but nobody is held to account. Our only hope is that the federal government, as rumored, is stepping in and going after corrupt law enforcement officials responsible for these criminal activities. We all thought those arrests last year were all for show during the mayoral election. Now you know the truth.