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Oct 7, 2009 9:52 pm US/Eastern
Meadows Suspects Allegedly Trained In Las Vegas
NORTH STRABANE TWP. (KDKA) ―
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Investigators say Andre Nestor, Patrick Loushil and Kerry Laverde hacked into slot machine software and received a bunch of fake jackpots.
KDKA
Sources close to the investigation into three men who allegedly defrauded the Meadows Casino out of several hundred thousand dollars say there is a Las Vegas connection.
KDKA's Marty Griffin reports the man in Las Vegas had intimate knowledge of the video slot machine software used at The Meadows.
Sources say the man trained the suspects, teaching them how to manipulate slot machine software to create false jackpots.
The Washington County District Attorney Steve Toprani can't comment on those allegations; however, he called the suspects "highly-trained" and says they ran a sophisticated operation.
"The trio basically found their own money tree and through actions that we believe were attributed directly to them and a manipulation of the game and game play itself, they were able to pay out basically at their will," Toprani said.
The grand jury presentment in the case alleges the three suspects, Andre Nestor, Patrick Loushil and Kerry Laverde, took more than $400,000 from the casino.
Sources tell KDKA Nestor is convinced he broke no Pennsylvania laws. He says he just learned how to win on the machine.
Prosecutors admit there's a loophole in the law.
"Pennsylvania does not have the benefit of a direct statute on point concerning the manipulation of a game or game play," Toprani said.
"Fortunately for us, the crimes code I believe fits fairly well.
"We were able to use computer charges as well as general theft and fraud charges to build a case.
"We would certainly benefit from a more direct statute addressing that type of behavior," he added.
Sources close to the case say there is concern a jury will find it difficult to find suspects guilty of exploiting a slot machine when Pennsylvania does not have such a law.
"We certainly feel that our case was fairly strong, pleased with the evidence we have," Toprani added. "The State Police did a great job of obtaining physical evidence. The Gaming Control Board did a great job also of analyzing records and really building what we think will be a strong case when we bring it to court."
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