By Angeljean Chiaramida
SALISBURY — Felony charges are being filed today at Newburyport District Court against 10 people police believe violated the state's gambling laws by allowing video gambling machines in four local convenience stores.
According to Salisbury police Sgt. Anthony King, the summonses are the result of weeks of digging through state and local records to determine the owners of the stores involved so charges could be filed. The task was complicated by the multiple limited liability corporations and individuals involved.
After an undercover investigation, a multi-agency task force led by King and including the FBI, held simultaneous raids the morning of March 31 at Richdale, Dick's Variety, Marte-L's and Mobil On the Run convenience stores. Seized at the four stores were 10 video machines programmed with a poker game, along with nearly $25,000 in cash, proceeds from what police believe was an illegal gambling scheme built around a phone card promotion.
Charged today on counts of "setting up and promoting a lottery and gaming device" are:
Richdale Store, at Salisbury Square; Aminul Islam, 33, 10D Elm St, Salisbury, one count; Rana Hasan, 30, 10D Elm St., Salisbury, one count; and owner Rahman Sohail, 30, 2247 Belmont Ave., Elmont, N.Y., two counts.
Dick's Variety Store, at Main Street; Kalpesh Patel, 31, 6 Main St., Salisbury, two counts; and owner Ramanbhati K. Patel, 49, 22 Long Drive, Westborough, two counts.
Marte-L's, at Toll Road; Kalpana V. Patel, 40, 45 Toll Road, Salisbury; one count; Vinodbhai M. Patel, 42, 45 Toll Road, Salisbury, one count; owners Devyani Patel, 58 and Mehendra Patel, 59, both of 5 Brenda Road, Norton, two counts each.
Mobil On The Run, at Main Street; owner Maya Patel, 41, 72 Brookside Drive, Stratham, N.H., two counts.
The felony charge brought through the summonses carries a maximum jail sentence of three years and $3,000 fine per count, King said.
"Summonses are just like arrests, except those charged are not taken into custody by police," King said. "The court mails out summonses and orders people to court on a specific day for arraignment."
Aside from the owners of the stores, King said the others charged were those who paid out cash to the undercover officer who played the machines at all four stores. King said that evidence indicted the machines were falsely labeled with "pre-paid phone card," on them, leading some to believe earning credits in the machines got points merely to replenish their cards. But that isn't the what the undercover operative found, he said.
"People inserted money into the machines, and the money would register as credits on (the video screens)," King said. "People could then use the buttons to gamble. They could bet; they could double down. When they were done, employees at the stores would verify the number of credits the people earned and pay them money based on the credits. Some people were big winners; some lost money."
Thomas Butters, the attorney for King's Pre-Paid Phone Card, LLC, the company that placed the machines in the four local stores, claims the machines are legal if played according to instructions, as Butters said was proven by a court decision in 2006.
"You put a dollar in the machine, and for a dollar, you get a 30-minutes prepaid phone card to use anywhere in the United States," Butters said in an earlier interview. "Then if you want, you can play the sweepstakes for free, and if they win, they get the money. People don't have to put any money into the machine to play. That's why it's legal."
Local police and those in Taunton, where stores were also raided, do not agree.
According to Salisbury police Chief David L'Esperance, putting money into a machine and getting money back is illegal in the state. As for the pre-phone cards promoted, he said there were no pre-paid phone cards found during the search of the stores.
