Deputy in Skimming Case Called a Skilled Gambler

A Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy accused of helping skim drug money and spending some of the stolen cash was described Friday as a successful gambler who once won $32,000 in Las Vegas.

Defense witnesses for Deputy Ronald E. Daub told jurors in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles that the narcotics officer won the money at the blackjack tables in 1988 as Daub’s attorney sought to explain how Daub accumulated tens of thousands of dollars beyond his sheriff’s salary.

Government prosecutors contend that Daub purchased a boat, automobiles and a vacation home during 1988 and 1989 with some of the $1.4 million allegedly stolen by narcotics deputies during drug raids.

Daub’s brother and mother, however, testified that Daub not only won money gambling but also received a sizable cash inheritance from his late father. The relatives also said they contributed money toward the purchase of the vacation home in Arizona.