This apparently didn't involve 400 officers to arrest 6 men, so it didn't garner any coverage.
MUNCIE — Two Muncie men face felony gambling charges in the wake of a state investigation of local sports betting.
H. Steve Mason, 65, 4609 W. Shirey Road — whose family owns the Oasis Bar & Grill, 1811 S. Burlington Drive — and Michael Terrell, 61, 3803 E. Memorial Drive, were each charged with promoting professional gambling and conspiracy to commit professional gambling.
The charges, filed in Delaware Circuit Court 1, are Class D felonies carrying standard 18-month prison terms.
The Oasis was one of two local taverns — Madison Square Garden, 211 E. Wysor St., was the other — raided Nov. 9 by agents for the Indiana Gaming Commission, along with three houses on the city’s south side.
Larry Rollins, director of the Gaming Commission’s gambling control division, said at the time of the raids that his agency had conducted a year-long investigation of a local sports-betting operation.
“We believe it’s an organized operation,” Rollins said as his agents removed boxes full of materials, including paperwork, from the Oasis. “They know who they are. And we will be in touch.”
Rollins said bets had been placed on virtually all sports, from the professional to the high school level.
He also noted illegal gambling activities can endanger the licenses that allow a business to sell alcohol and tobacco.
The promoting charge against Mason alleges he had “control over the use of a place” and knowingly allowed another person “to use the place for professional gambling" between Oct. 13, 2011, and the day of last November’s raids.
Terrell is accused of “transmitting” gambling-related information before a “race, game contest or event” on which bets could be placed.
The documents allege those involved in the betting operation obtained “football parlay cards,” placed wagers on the outcome of sporting events, transmitted “gambling information” and accepted money “risked in gambling.”
Delaware County Prosecutor Jeffrey Arnold said Mason and Terrell would receive summonses to appear at initial hearings, and would not be arrested.
Asked whether others might be charged in connection with the same investigation, Arnold said, “I can’t answer that.”
He acknowledged, however, that he was reviewing other possible charges.
MUNCIE — Two Muncie men face felony gambling charges in the wake of a state investigation of local sports betting.
H. Steve Mason, 65, 4609 W. Shirey Road — whose family owns the Oasis Bar & Grill, 1811 S. Burlington Drive — and Michael Terrell, 61, 3803 E. Memorial Drive, were each charged with promoting professional gambling and conspiracy to commit professional gambling.
The charges, filed in Delaware Circuit Court 1, are Class D felonies carrying standard 18-month prison terms.
The Oasis was one of two local taverns — Madison Square Garden, 211 E. Wysor St., was the other — raided Nov. 9 by agents for the Indiana Gaming Commission, along with three houses on the city’s south side.
Larry Rollins, director of the Gaming Commission’s gambling control division, said at the time of the raids that his agency had conducted a year-long investigation of a local sports-betting operation.
“We believe it’s an organized operation,” Rollins said as his agents removed boxes full of materials, including paperwork, from the Oasis. “They know who they are. And we will be in touch.”
Rollins said bets had been placed on virtually all sports, from the professional to the high school level.
He also noted illegal gambling activities can endanger the licenses that allow a business to sell alcohol and tobacco.
The promoting charge against Mason alleges he had “control over the use of a place” and knowingly allowed another person “to use the place for professional gambling" between Oct. 13, 2011, and the day of last November’s raids.
Terrell is accused of “transmitting” gambling-related information before a “race, game contest or event” on which bets could be placed.
The documents allege those involved in the betting operation obtained “football parlay cards,” placed wagers on the outcome of sporting events, transmitted “gambling information” and accepted money “risked in gambling.”
Delaware County Prosecutor Jeffrey Arnold said Mason and Terrell would receive summonses to appear at initial hearings, and would not be arrested.
Asked whether others might be charged in connection with the same investigation, Arnold said, “I can’t answer that.”
He acknowledged, however, that he was reviewing other possible charges.