Slots Gone by Easter?

Slots Still Taking in Money as Police Prepare Their List and Check it Twice;  State Police Prepare to Snatch One-Armed Bandits

Comptroller awaits Sheriff's report and then will "act accordingly"

By Kenneth C. Rossignol
ST. MARY’S TODAY

LEONARDTOWN --- “We are going to commence with the most egregious offenders and move accordingly until there are no machines left in the county,” said Lt. Brian Cedar, commander of the Leonardtown Barrack of the Maryland State Police.   “We are going to treat them as evidence and store them for any possible criminal prosecution.  We have identified secure space to store them and they won’t be outside or in a shed, it’s a good environment.”

“We didn’t have the Baltimore County officers arrive last week when we went around to the bars and restaurants which have the slot machines,” said St. Mary’s  Sheriff Tim Cameron. “We were able to check out the financials of the places which have slot machines and check to determine which kind of machine are in place.”

Cameron said that the detectives conducting the investigation now have a good idea of which machines are legal, basically only the ones at the ADF, but even those are too great in number, exceeding the five allowed under the law.

“In order to be legal under the Attorney General’s ruling, the machines must dispense the pull tab at the bottom of the machine, the same ones referenced in the court ruling from 2001 and they must meet the criteria of being installed on the charity’s own premises, be owned by the charity and have proper records,” said Cameron, adding that he didn't know if it will be possible to get them all out by Easter but the first ones being seized might convince others to simply get rid of them on their own.

The Comptroller is waiting on the Sheriff’s report, said the spokesman for Maryland Comptroller Peter Franchot when asked when the big shoe of potential fines for operating illegal amusement devices is going to fall.
“After we get the Sheriff’s report, we will act accordingly,” Warren Hansen told ST. MARY’S TODAY.

Fines for the machines could get quite costly and continue to mount by the day.
Comptroller Franchot had told ST. MARY'S TODAY two weeks ago he would show up with a truck and cart them off to the dump, saying that the reporting of the cash business was suspect, that they were illegal and taxes were not being paid.  

“I would hope that some of these establishments would see the handwriting on the wall and start removing the slot machines,” said Cameron.

Establishments such as the Mechanicsville Moose Lodge would comply if they had the legal type of machine, and officials of that fraternal organization, which they claim has donated all of its proceeds to charitable groups, will likely conform by acquiring legal machines.

While some bars are having slot machine players sign petitions to legislators, such as Del. Johnny Wood (D. Mechanicsville), who apparently is the chief proponent of illegal slot machines in the area, advising those who sought guidance on whether to put the machines in their bars and stores, to go ahead and make hay while the sun shines.

Senator Roy Dyson (D. St. Mary’s, Calvert, Charles) came under a lot of pressure to cave in on his stand against the slot machines and the slot machine scam artists who have commandeered many area liquor stores, restaurants and bars to turn them into neighborhood casinos by adding hundreds of slot machines into the community had Dyson in their crosshairs from the beginning.

The slot machine lobbyist, Bruce Bereano, a disbarred lawyer who represents the slot machine purveyor Frank Moran and Son, picked the Brass Rail, located next to the Dyson family lumber yard and home center at Great Mills to be one of the largest corner casinos. 

In addition, the Little Flower School, which Senator Dyson attended, and is located across the street from his home, has been the recipient of a reported $125,000 in cash lost by the slots players, about half of whom are gambling addicted poor.  Father Joseph Sileo, the pastor of Holy Face Church which administers Little Flower said he has been instructed by the Archdiocese of Washington not to discuss the amount of money received by the slot machines at Brass Rail.  The Archdiocese has not responded to requests to confirm the amount of money taken in by the parochial school.

The Brass Rail has been the scene of drug dealing and murder in past years and the sudden alliance with the Little Flower School is hard for many to understand but as Father Sileo told ST. MARY'S TODAY, "These are bingo machines and we do bingo." 

In fact, the machines that the priest thought were bingo machines were in fact slot machines.

The Alternatives for Children group testified in Annapolis two weeks ago against the bill to outlaw the illegally placed slot machines in St. Mary's.  That group which has been getting money for about two months from slot machines in Charlotte Hall told the legislature that if the slots were removed, they would not have funds for counseling, even though the group has been counseling for the last 20 years without the benefit of the slot machines. 

Walden Counseling Center which runs addiction prevention and treatment programs, including programs for gambling addiction, has their name as a sponsor on five machines at one of the corner casinos in Charlotte Hall. 

While about 330 machines are in the police count of illegal slot machines at corner casinos, other area businesses which refused to install the machines are happy to see them go and glad that they kept them out of their establishments.

One local web publication erroneously reported that the Fitzies Marina and Restaurant in Compton had the machines, which they do not, and owner Dan Fitzgerald who, with his wife and children run the popular seafood restaurant said he was really unhappy to be listed among those with machines.

“We didn’t feel that these slot machines were right for our family oriented business and we didn’t want to have them in, even though we had one group who wanted to sponsor them, we made the decision not to have them and everyone can see now it was the right decision,” said Fitzgerald.  “For those who wanted to play them and to host them, its up to them, it just wasn’t right for us.”

Fitzies won’t have to worry about losing business to eateries with slot machines as if the expectations of Maryland State Police Lt. Cedar are realized, the slot machines will be gone by Easter and unlike the holiday celebrated by Christians on the death of Jesus on Good Friday, there will likely not be a resurrection by Sunday.