Oklahoma arrests in online gambling sting operation
News on 14 Sep 2013
News on 14 Sep 2013
An elderly Oklahoma City bar owner and her boyfriend were arrested Friday on charges of facilitating illegal online sports betting by using the bar premises to collect money and pay out winnings, according to court documents.
The Oklahoman reports that Bernard Edward Horrigan (64) was charged with felony commercial gambling and Connie Sue Kelley, (61) faces a misdemeanor charge of permitting the premises to be used for commercial gambling.
The charges were filed after an Oklahoma City police officer running a sting operation contacted Horrigan about setting up an online gambling account.
About a week after bets were placed, bettors were told to meet at the bar in order to pay or collect money.
Horrigan’s girlfriend, Kelley, is the bar’s owner and she was introduced to the officer when he went to pay his debts, according to the court affidavit.
The police officer placed bets between February and August 2013 and a search warrant was served on August 14.
According to a probable cause affidavit filed in the case, the officer was led into a storage room at the bar to hand off the money. When Horrigan wasn’t available to take money, cash-filled envelopes were often left with bartenders.
