CORBIN —
By Charlotte Underwood / Staff Writer
Community complaints, some of which were from dissatisfied gamblers, led to the arrest of two Whitley County men for conspiracy to promote gambling, according to Whitley County Sheriff Colan Harrell.
The sheriff’s department executed a search warrant on the New Friendly Food Mart in the Woodbine community on Wednesday around noon and seized nine gambling machines, according to the sheriff. The complaints had escalated over the past month, while the sheriff’s department worked on the case.
“We have had several complaints about the machines being here and even some complaints about the payoffs from the machines not being good; so in other words, they were cheating the gamblers,” Harrell said.
He explained that while the machines themselves were not illegal if they were used for entertainment purposes only, it is the unregulated gambling and payoffs that make it illegal. Winning payoffs were paid out with gift cards, according to Chief Deputy KY Fuson.
“They pay no taxes on it, there are no regulations on it. This is something that needs to be done. We don’t want these individuals coming in here and spending the family’s grocery money on gambling, it’s just not good,” Harrell said.
The machines were located in a small back room of the store, hidden from view.
“This alone says it’s wrong; whenever you have to hide something away like this, you know it is wrong,” Harrell said. There was a handwritten sign on the wall proclaiming the machines were for “amusement only, do not pay cash please.” The sheriff’s department found $375 in cash in the machines, which had been emptied the night before according to the store owner and manager.
Store owner Mahindrakumar Patel, 48, of Williamsburg, and store manager Nileshbhai Patel, 35, of Woodbine, were both arrested and charged with conspiracy to promote gambling, which is a class D felony.
Store employees Dipa Patel, 35, of Woodbine, and Pina Patel, 32, of Woodbine, were both cited with second-degree promotion of gambling, which is a misdemeanor, according to Harrell.
The sheriff’s department will seek to have the machines forfeited and destroyed.
The investigation continues and there is a “strong possibility” that other, unnamed co-conspirators will be charged as well, according to Harrell.
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Related Photos
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Whitley County Deputy Cody Harrell (left) and Sheriff Colan Harrell load the last of the nine gambling machines that were seized from a Woodbine store on Wednesday. Photos by Charlotte Underwood
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