State Moves to Curb 4 Officials of Poker Parlor

Citing illegal gambling activities, Atty. Gen. Dan Lungren’s office took on the federal government Tuesday, recommending license revocation for the federally appointed trustee and ordering license cancellations for three top managers of the Bicycle Club poker parlor in Bell Gardens.

Lungren’s Department of Justice gambling unit, in a civil complaint, charged that since September federal trustee Harry John Richard had knowingly allowed scams, kickbacks, loan-sharking, illegal games and cheating to take place at the club, one of the largest in California.

The club came under partial government ownership by the U.S. Marshals Service in 1990 as an asset seizure arising out of a Florida drug bust, and federally appointed managers have acted as principal operators ever since.

Vice president of operations Kevin J. Beaton, casino manager Thomas Atherton and Asian games director James Wang were informed this week that their state-granted permission to perform their duties was canceled and they were expected to leave the premises, a spokesman for Lungren said.

A state law enforcement official said that if the executives refused to leave their posts, “we would move against them in some fashion.”

A spokesman for the club said none of the four were any longer at the club--which remained open, with the manager of poker games, Tracey Edwards, placed temporarily in charge of all gaming. The spokesman said club management would have no immediate comment.

At a U.S. Senate hearing last month, Richard denied having knowledge of illegal activities at the club. “Any allegation I receive in writing or orally is turned over to the Marshals Service, the city of Bell Gardens chief of police, the L.A. County Asian Gang Task Force and state officials,” he said. “They have never indicated to me that these conditions are continually ongoing.”

Federal officials could not be reached for comment Tuesday. However, at the Senate hearing, the head of the Marshals Service admitted that mistakes had been made in handling the club but said reforms were underway to tighten management procedures.

A variety of legal gambling activities are offered at the club, from traditional poker to high-stakes Asian games.

According to the state’s civil complaint, Richard was “repeatedly advised” by club security personnel of illegal activities being conducted by Wang and did nothing to halt them.

Those activities allegedly included allowing card cheats to play at customer tables, demanding kickbacks in return for hiring employees in the Asian games section, and loan-sharking of players needing a stake to continue playing.

The state complaint names Wang as the principal perpetrator and the other three executives as allowing the activities to occur. The complaint is aimed at Richard as the holder of a permanent gambling license and recommends that Lungren revoke the document and bar Richard from gaming activities.

In the case of the other three club managers, Lungren’s staff was able to act against them directly because their licenses were either provisional or in the application stage, according to a Lungren spokesman.

Lungren’s office took similar revocation action in June against another of the Bicycle Club partners, founder George Hardie, alleging involvement in skimming millions in club profits. Hardie has denied the accusations and the action against him is pending.

Hardie is a partner in a group that owns 35% of the club. The remaining 65% is held by a second group, in which the federal government has a controlling interest.