Ex-waitress gets house arrest in casino scheme
James Halpin
9/1/17
WILKES-BARRE — The former cocktail waitress who swiped player’s card information as part of an inside job to defraud Mohegan Sun Pocono out of hundreds of thousands of dollars was sentenced Thursday to two years of probation, the first six months on house arrest.
Rochelle Poszeluznyj, 39, of Kingston, previously pleaded guilty to a federal money-laundering conspiracy charge in the case. U.S. District Judge A. Richard Caputo imposed the sentence Thursday, describing her role as “substantially less” than that of her co-conspirators.
Poszeluznyj offered only a brief apology during the hearing, saying she was sorry to have betrayed the trust of casino patrons and management.
“I would just like to say that I’m very ashamed for my actions,” Poszeluznyj said.
Defense attorney Robert M. Buttner sought a probationary sentence for Poszeluznyj, who he said benefitted least from the conspiracy that cost the casino more than $420,000.
According to prosecutors, Poszeluznyj collected players’ information and passed it along to the casino’s former vice president of player development, Robert Joseph Pellegrini, who used his executive casino access to make copies of the cards and put Bonus Play on them. Poszeluznyj’s boyfriend, gambler Mark Joseph Heltzel, 53, of Dallas, then used the cards to gamble at video poker machines, raking in $422,147 between May 2014 and April 2015, according to prosecutors.
In his bid for leniency, Buttner portrayed Poszeluznyj as a woman who had been “ostracized” by her family and had been seeking Heltzel’s approval.
“She was seeking acceptance,” Buttner said.
Heltzel — a financial planner who also managed Poszeluznyj’s retirement account — exuded the image of a wealthy and successful man, he said. She went along with the crime because he down-played the severity of their actions: Poszeluznyj never knew how much money they were stealing, he said.
“It was portrayed to her as picking pennies up off the floor,” Buttner said.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Michelle Olshefski countered that the notion Poszeluznyj, a grown and independent woman, was simply trying to “please her man” is insulting.
“She is an independent woman who made her own choices,” Olshefski said.
While Poszeluznyj didn’t see much of the stolen cash — her share of the restitution is only $2,000 — she did benefit from the conspiracy by getting vacations and other items of value, the prosecutor said.
“She was wined. She was dined,” Olshefski said. “She was provided manicures and pedicures.”
Caputo described the case as a “mixed bag,” saying the conspiracy would not have been possible without Poszeluznyj but noting she received only $2,000 plus some considerations.
“That sort of pales to what the other co-conspirators achieved in this enterprise,” Caputo said.
The judge sentenced Poszeluznyj to serve two years on probation, the first six months on house arrest. During that period, she will be permitted to continue her schooling at Luzerne County Community College and go to her job at the River Grille in Wilkes-Barre.
Poszeluznyj is the final defendant to be sentenced in the case. Heltzel and Pellegrini, 51, of Fairview Twp., previously pleaded guilty to money-laundering conspiracy charges and were ordered to jointly pay $420,147 in restitution.
Heltzel was sentenced earlier this month to serve 18 months in federal prison. He is due to report to the federal Bureau of Prisons on Sept. 5.
Pellegrini, who Caputo described as “most responsible” for the crime because of his executive position, was sentenced in June to serve 32 months in prison. He is currently serving his time at Federal Correctional Institution, Schuylkill.
James Halpin
9/1/17
WILKES-BARRE — The former cocktail waitress who swiped player’s card information as part of an inside job to defraud Mohegan Sun Pocono out of hundreds of thousands of dollars was sentenced Thursday to two years of probation, the first six months on house arrest.
Rochelle Poszeluznyj, 39, of Kingston, previously pleaded guilty to a federal money-laundering conspiracy charge in the case. U.S. District Judge A. Richard Caputo imposed the sentence Thursday, describing her role as “substantially less” than that of her co-conspirators.
Poszeluznyj offered only a brief apology during the hearing, saying she was sorry to have betrayed the trust of casino patrons and management.
“I would just like to say that I’m very ashamed for my actions,” Poszeluznyj said.
Defense attorney Robert M. Buttner sought a probationary sentence for Poszeluznyj, who he said benefitted least from the conspiracy that cost the casino more than $420,000.
According to prosecutors, Poszeluznyj collected players’ information and passed it along to the casino’s former vice president of player development, Robert Joseph Pellegrini, who used his executive casino access to make copies of the cards and put Bonus Play on them. Poszeluznyj’s boyfriend, gambler Mark Joseph Heltzel, 53, of Dallas, then used the cards to gamble at video poker machines, raking in $422,147 between May 2014 and April 2015, according to prosecutors.
In his bid for leniency, Buttner portrayed Poszeluznyj as a woman who had been “ostracized” by her family and had been seeking Heltzel’s approval.
“She was seeking acceptance,” Buttner said.
Heltzel — a financial planner who also managed Poszeluznyj’s retirement account — exuded the image of a wealthy and successful man, he said. She went along with the crime because he down-played the severity of their actions: Poszeluznyj never knew how much money they were stealing, he said.
“It was portrayed to her as picking pennies up off the floor,” Buttner said.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Michelle Olshefski countered that the notion Poszeluznyj, a grown and independent woman, was simply trying to “please her man” is insulting.
“She is an independent woman who made her own choices,” Olshefski said.
While Poszeluznyj didn’t see much of the stolen cash — her share of the restitution is only $2,000 — she did benefit from the conspiracy by getting vacations and other items of value, the prosecutor said.
“She was wined. She was dined,” Olshefski said. “She was provided manicures and pedicures.”
Caputo described the case as a “mixed bag,” saying the conspiracy would not have been possible without Poszeluznyj but noting she received only $2,000 plus some considerations.
“That sort of pales to what the other co-conspirators achieved in this enterprise,” Caputo said.
The judge sentenced Poszeluznyj to serve two years on probation, the first six months on house arrest. During that period, she will be permitted to continue her schooling at Luzerne County Community College and go to her job at the River Grille in Wilkes-Barre.
Poszeluznyj is the final defendant to be sentenced in the case. Heltzel and Pellegrini, 51, of Fairview Twp., previously pleaded guilty to money-laundering conspiracy charges and were ordered to jointly pay $420,147 in restitution.
Heltzel was sentenced earlier this month to serve 18 months in federal prison. He is due to report to the federal Bureau of Prisons on Sept. 5.
Pellegrini, who Caputo described as “most responsible” for the crime because of his executive position, was sentenced in June to serve 32 months in prison. He is currently serving his time at Federal Correctional Institution, Schuylkill.
