Local News in Brief : Poker Club Files Seized
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Financial records were seized Thursday from a Bell poker club and the homes of at least two of its general partners following a four-month investigation into possible skimming of proceeds, law enforcement officials said.
No charges have yet been filed in the investigation of the California Bell Club, which began with a tip to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, according to Deputy Dist. Atty. Robert Kuhnert, head of the prosecutor’s organized crime and anti-terrorist division. Search warrants indicated that allegations of grand theft and misappropriation of funds are under review.
Along with district attorney’s investigators, the U.S. Internal Revenue Service and several state agencies participated in the search for business and financial records.
It is the second time in a year that a poker club in the area has been the subject of a criminal investigation.
A federal indictment issued in November alleged that prominent sports figure Sam Gilbert allowed the investment of drug smuggling profits in the Bicycle Club in Bell Gardens. But Gilbert, whose construction firm built the club in 1984, died of cancer four days before the indictment was issued.
The investigation is not the only problem facing the California Bell Club. Because the casino owes Bell roughly $550,000 in back taxes, the Bell City Council has been negotiating to purchase the property and turn it over to another operator. If the purchase goes through, Bell would be the first city in the nation to own a gambling business.
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