LOS ANGELES : 3 Plead Not Guilty in Illegal Gambling on Reservation
Two consultants and a gaming business president pleaded not guilty in Los Angeles on Monday to federal charges that they set up 140 illegal slot machines that took in $10 million on the Morongo Indian Reservation.
The men and E. C. Investments Inc. are accused of installing illegal video Keno, poker and “Pot-o-Gold” machines in Casino Morongo, a gaming business on the Morongo Reservation near Banning.
The Morongo Tribal Council hired the men and the company to run the casino, according to a 23-count grand jury indictment returned last week.
ECI President Ira Englander, 66, of Los Angeles, and consultants Roger Keesee 43, of Atlanta, and William C. Armstrong, 41, of Pompano Beach, Fla., pleaded not guilty to the charges. Englander also entered a not guilty plea on behalf of the corporation.
The defendants, free on $250,000 bond, face at least 20 years in prison if convicted.
Meanwhile, an arrest warrant was issued for Gyorgy Hargitai, 46, who owns the company and lives in Budapest. U.S. Magistrate Judge Volney Brown set trial for June 28 before U.S. District Judge Richard Gadbois.
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