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Tuesday, 21 November 2006 15:22 |
$2 million seized by agents
in raid aimed at illegal poker
Alcohol Law Enforcement agents seized nearly $2 million in a raid targeting illegal video poker operations allegedy run by two local businesssmen ÇƒÓ a father-son team, officials said last Thursday.
The raid followed an investigation that spanned more than 18 months, a spokesman for the agency said.
Neither of the suspects, Demetre Theodossis nor his son Dennis, have been charged with any crime. Officials said the investigation is ongoing.
Demetre
Theodossis, 57, was named in search warrants returned last Friday. He
owns several Hot Dog King restaurants that agents said served as
locations for his poker machines.
During the Nov.
14 raid, agents found about $1.8 million in cash hidden in Theodossisë
log home and around his property off McMinn Road in central Henderson
County.
As part of a
larger operation that day, 50 agents and two supervisors also raided
the house of Dennis Theodossis, in Asheville, as well as a storage
facility, 20 stores, bars and other Buncombe County sites containing
the video poker machines.
When the elder
Theodossis was vacationing in Greece in October, his son took over,
employees of the operations told agents. The sonës age was noted listed
in the warrants.
In all, the
agents seized at least 50 machines owned by Theodossis. They also took
away computers, records and tickets that allegedly were used to get
illegal cash reimbursements.
In addition, the agents seized two cars, including a 2006 BMW valued at $90,000; and a 1998 BMW valued at $20,000.
A handgun was seized at the elder Theodosisë house, but agents said it was legal and would be returned to him.
The investigation was spurred by public complaints that illegal cash payments were being paid on the machines.
Most of the
people who filed complaints were relatives of gamblers who had lost
significant amounts of money playing the machines, ALE district
supervisor Ron Kayor said.
North Carolina
is phasing out video poker, which will be prohibited starting in July.
Currently, only two machines are allowed at each location and cash
payments are illegal. However, cash payments were given to undercover
agents at one of the locations that was investigated, Kaylor said.
Businesses
raided included Royal Pines Games & Pool and a Stop and Go
convenience store, both on Sweeten Creek Road, a game room under the
Hot Dog King on Smokey Park Highway and U.S. 70 Billiards in Swannanoa.
"The
investigation revealed that Theodossis not only operated EGMs
(electronic gambling machines) in locations he owned, but also had EGMs
placed in various outlets throughout Buncombe County," the warrants
noted.
Undercover ALE
agents played the machines and received cash payouts from 20 locations,
typically from $60 to $90, the warrants stated.
Triple-murderer seeks
to end appeals, wants death
Death row inmate
James Floyd Davis is asking to drop his appeals and fire his attorneys,
so that he can be executed as soon as possible.
However, a
psychiatric evaluation will be required for the triple-murderer to
determine if he is mentally competent to make that decision before a
judge can rule on Davisë request.
Based on the
evaluation, Davis likely either will spend another decade or so in
prison with a chance at a new trial, or be given a lethal injection
within months.
Davis was sentenced to death for the 1995 murders of three co-workers at the Union Butterfield plant in Asheville.
The inmate said during a recent hearing in Buncombe County Superior Court that he sees no reason to prolong his life.
When Judge
Ronald Payne asked for an explanation, Davis said, "For closure for all
concerned; for me, the Union Butterfield families of the victims. Iëm
just asking this court for closure."
Nicknamed
"Psycho" by his co-workers, Davis entered the Sweeten Creek Road plant
on the morning of May 17, 1995, and opened fire with an M-1 carbine and
a .380-caliber handgun, killing three people and wounding four.
Those killed
included Gerald Allman, Frank Knox and Tony Balogh. Davis had been
fired two days earlier for fighting with an employee.
He was convicted
of first-degree murder by a Buncombe Count jury in September 1996 and
received three death sentences. The N.C. Supreme Court upheld the
sentences two years later.
UNCA student charged
with assault on officer
UNC Asheville
campus police early last Saturday arrested a UNCA student on charges of
simple physical assault of a police officer and aiding in underage
possession of an alcoholic beverage by a person under age 21.
Justin Patrick
Wilkins, 26, of Fairview was arrested about 5 a.m. following the
receipt of a call complaining of a loud party in 307 Scott Hall,
Wilkinsë dormitory room.
When Officer Shannon Green arrived, he was met by Wilkins and he detected a strong odor of alcohol on the latterës breath.
Wilkins "quickly
became very confrontational," Green noted, prompting the officer to ask
for his identification. Wilkins told him he had his identification in
his room.
"For officer safety," Green said he told Wilkins to leave his door open, while he entered the room to find his identification.
Wilkins "refused
and attempted to shut the door. I placed my left foot in the doorway to
block the door from striking me," Green noted. Wilkins "then attempted
to strike me with the door repeatedly."
Green called for
backup assistance from the Woodfin Police Department and when Wilkins
"heard other officers on my radio-check en route, he became more
compliant."
The officer said
he then was able to speak to "Mr. (Michael) DiPerna," who said that
Wilkins had provided him with a malt beverage. At that point, Green
escorted Wilkins to the campus security building, where the latter was
arrested on the two aforementioned charges.
He was later confined at the Buncombe County Detention Center under a $400 bond. A trial date was set for Jan. 22, 2007.
"As Mr. Wilkins began to sober up, he became more respectful and apologetic," Green noted.
A-B Tech student faces
drinking, driving charges
UNC Asheville
campus police early last Sunday charged Lauren Elizabeth Bush, 20, a
student at Asheville-Buncumbe Technical Community College, with driving
after consuming alcohol under age 21 and driving while her license was
revoked.
About 2:10 a.m.,
Officer Shannon Green said he saw a green Chevrolet Cavalier leave Lot
9, failing to stop at the stop sign. The vehicle then traveled toward
Edgewood Road on University Heights.
At the
intersection of University Heights and Edgewood, the vehicle again
failed to stop for a stop sign,
Green reported. "At this time, I
performed a traffic stop on the vehicle at the main entrance. Woodfin
police arrived as back up.
When he approached the vehicle, Green said he detected a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage emanating from it.
The driver
identified herself as Bush and admitted she was 20 years old and had
been drinking an alcoholic beverage, Green noted.
In a field
sobriety test, Bush performed poorly, the officer said. "She was very
unsteady on her feet and her eyes were bloodshot and glassy."
On the alco-sensor test, she registered an .08 and a .07 BAC.
"Dispatch then
contacted me and advised me that there was a pick up order on the tage
and the vehicle had no insurance," Green reported. A subsequent license
check on Bush showed that it was revoked.
At that point, Green issued Bush a citation for no insurance and an expired registration tag.
Asheville
Wrecker arrived and towed the vehicle and Green transported Bush to the
Buncombe County Detention Center, where she registered a .05 BAC on the
intoxilyzer 5000 breath test. "Ms. Bush was very cooperative," Green
noted.
She was released from the center on a written promise to appear for trial on Jan. 8, 2006.
28 area residents graduated
at Citizens Police Academy
The most recent
class of the Asheville Police Departmentës Citizens Police Academy were
recognized for completion of the 10-week course last Thursday at the
Municipal Building.
The 28 members
of this most recent class come from all walks of life in Asheville.
They include published authors, business men and women, and retired
persons. All of them have been motivated to invest their time in a
learning opportunity that offers a unique insight into police training
and operations in Asheville.
The 10-week
class involved 35 hours of participation. During the weekly evening
meetings class members received information and instruction on many
aspects of police work. Subjects such as patrol techniques, search and
seizure, use of force issues, forensics, and criminal investigations
were included in the curriculum. Participants were also given the
option to attend firearms orientation held at the police range one
Saturday morning.
The class
provides a way for citizens to become more informed about the issues
facing a modern law enforcement agency. All citizens of Asheville are
eligible to apply for the next class that will begin March 15, 2007.
Anyone
interested in participating in the Citizens Police Academy may call the
Asheville Police Department at 259-5834 and leave a message for Officer
Allen Dunlap.
Warning on common scams
issued to Asheville citizens
The Asheville
Police Department recently issued warnings regarding two common mail
and e-mail scams that have been circulating recently.
Many residents
of Asheville received letters in the mail about "European lottery
programs." Frequently these letters use the correct name and address
for the resident.
These scams inform the "winner" that they have won a specific amount of money, according to police spokesman John Dankel.
What looks like a legitimate check for a portion of the winnings is included with the notification letter.
Instructions
direct the "winner" to contact a lottery agent for instructions on how
to remit their "tax and clearance fees" so they can receive their
lottery winnings, he said.
Typically the
recipients are directed by the "agent" to wire money ÇƒÓ after they have
deposited the fake check into their personal account ÇƒÓ to someone
outside the country.
They are told they will then receive their portion of the prize money, less a percentage for the agent or sponsor commission.
A day or so
after it is deposited into the personës account the bank will discover
the check is fake and the account will be debited for that amount.
Unfortunately, the victim has frequently already wired the money to the
scam artist and there is no practical way to get it back, Dankel noted.
"Winners" also
are warned in the letter to keep their winnings "absolutely
confidential" to avoid unauthorized persons or organizations from
contacting them about their new-found wealth.
None of the
information in the letter is true, according to police. Persons
receiving these letters are urged to discard them immediately.
Regarding
another common fraudulent scheme, the APD noted on July 15 that the FBI
is receiving renewed complaints about an e-mail scam that first
surfaced sometime in 2004.
People are receiving official-looking e-mails, purportedly from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.
The e-mail
claims a personës bank accounts are no longer eligible for FDIC
insurance because suspected violations of the USA PATRIOT Act, Dankel
said.
The message also
says this issue can be resolved by clicking on a link provided in the
e-mail and providing a great deal of personal information. Supposedly,
after the information is verified, the accounts will once again be
eligible for FDIC insurance. There is also an implication that failure
to provide the "required" information will result in further
investigation and possibly a visit from federal agents.
These e-mails,
and all like them, are scams, Dankel said. Persons who respond and
provide the requested information risk having their identity stolen and
misused and they place funds in their banks accounts at risk for theft.
Government agencies and legitimate banks do not request this sort of information by e-mail, Dankel stressed.
All such
requests should be regarded as scams and the e-mails should be
immediately deleted without opening any attachments. Those with any
doubts or questions may contact the bank or government agency directly
by telephone, Dankel said.
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