New Orleans area...
The storefront in a strip mall located in unincorporated Gretna advertised blockbuster weekend sales of $99 laptops and iPhones, iPads, cameras, clothing and other electronics behind blue-curtained windows.
But members of the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office Vice Squad say the woman and three men arrested there actually ran an illegal gambling operation, conning patrons out of money through an rigged game called Razzle Dazzle, arrest reports said.
Detectives arrested Amy Angelo, 24, of Hamilton, Mo.; Lawrence Yagla, 45, of Marietta, Okla.; Michael Wallace, 55, of Irvington, Ala.; and John Lewis, 57, of Elmendorf, Texas, and booked them Friday (Sept. 9) with gambling.
The foursome is accused of operating a gambling hall of sorts out of a rented store space at 555 Lapalco Blvd., arrest reports said.
The Sheriff's Office received a complaint about the scam in August. While the store advertised itself as a liquidation expo, the group actually allowed "customers" to play Razzle Dazzle, an infamous confidence con game that is heavily rigged in the house's favor.
Another tenant at the strip mall said Monday the store had been open on the weekends for about seven weeks, charging $5 for admission.
The Sheriff's Office sent undercover agents into the business to check things out. Lewis, Wallace and Yagla manned the gaming table and collected money from players, arrest reports said.
Angelo directed players to the game, handed out free vouchers and ran a booth collecting cash. She told investigators she got a 10-percent cut from the money the game brought in, an arrest report said.
The detectives obtained warrants and returned to the store Friday to take the suspects into custody. Angelo, Yagla and Wallace were released that same day from the Jefferson Parish Correctional Center in Gretna on $500 bonds. No bond information was available for Lewis.
The strip mall is owned by Kaki Brothers Realty Development LTD. No one from the company could be reached for comment on Tuesda
The storefront in a strip mall located in unincorporated Gretna advertised blockbuster weekend sales of $99 laptops and iPhones, iPads, cameras, clothing and other electronics behind blue-curtained windows.
But members of the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office Vice Squad say the woman and three men arrested there actually ran an illegal gambling operation, conning patrons out of money through an rigged game called Razzle Dazzle, arrest reports said.
Detectives arrested Amy Angelo, 24, of Hamilton, Mo.; Lawrence Yagla, 45, of Marietta, Okla.; Michael Wallace, 55, of Irvington, Ala.; and John Lewis, 57, of Elmendorf, Texas, and booked them Friday (Sept. 9) with gambling.
The foursome is accused of operating a gambling hall of sorts out of a rented store space at 555 Lapalco Blvd., arrest reports said.
The Sheriff's Office received a complaint about the scam in August. While the store advertised itself as a liquidation expo, the group actually allowed "customers" to play Razzle Dazzle, an infamous confidence con game that is heavily rigged in the house's favor.
Another tenant at the strip mall said Monday the store had been open on the weekends for about seven weeks, charging $5 for admission.
The Sheriff's Office sent undercover agents into the business to check things out. Lewis, Wallace and Yagla manned the gaming table and collected money from players, arrest reports said.
Angelo directed players to the game, handed out free vouchers and ran a booth collecting cash. She told investigators she got a 10-percent cut from the money the game brought in, an arrest report said.
The detectives obtained warrants and returned to the store Friday to take the suspects into custody. Angelo, Yagla and Wallace were released that same day from the Jefferson Parish Correctional Center in Gretna on $500 bonds. No bond information was available for Lewis.
The strip mall is owned by Kaki Brothers Realty Development LTD. No one from the company could be reached for comment on Tuesda
