Cop and 2 others arrested in VP scam

[Brianzz]

 WASHINGTON, Pa. --

Three people were arrested in a sophisticated theft scheme targeting The Meadows Casino, authorities said.

Investigators said Tuesday that Andre Nestor, 37, and his two alleged co-conspirators, Patrick Loushil, 42, and former Swissvale police officer Kerry Laverde, are facing more than 360 counts of fraud and theft for allegedly ripping off the Meadows Casino in Washington County.

The three men were arrested after allegedly taking advantage of a computer glitch in a poker machine, which police said netted them more than $420,000 in false winnings between June and August.

According to the grand jury indictment, Nestor was the mastermind who posed as a high roller to gain the staff's trust, and Laverde posed as his body guard.

"Once the machine was compromised, they were able, basically, to make it pay out at their will," said District Attorney Steven Toprani. "In essence, they found a money tree."

"I do spend a lot of money down here and for them to be able to come down and rig a machine and know how to do it and nobody catch them, it's not fair," said patron Denise Wise.

All three suspects are in the Washington County Jail. They're charged with theft, conspiracy and receiving stolen property.

[knagl]

Wow, I really thought the days of these type of stories were behind us.  With the newer and newer technology and more sophisticated camera systems, I didn't think it'd be possible anymore.

[stayouttadabunker]

I don't see how this is possible...
It has to an inside job...somehow.

If this story is followed more closely, they may have court documents on how it was done...
or at least, which particular type of video poker machine involved.
 

[TZtech]

Hi All

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/pittsburgh/s_646772.html

Three men busted in slots scheme at Meadows Racetrack & Casino

By Chris Togneri
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Wednesday, October 7, 2009

State police Tuesday arrested three men — including a former Swissvale police officer — in connection with a heist that Washington County District Attorney Steven Toprani called "one of the single largest casino machine thefts in American history."

Andre Nestor, 37, and Kerry Laverde, 49, both of Swissvale, and Patrick Loushil, 42, of Brookline are charged with manipulating a poker machine at Meadows Racetrack & Casino in North Strabane to collect $429,945 in fraudulent payouts, authorities said.

"This is the first crime of this nature and magnitude since gaming began in Pennsylvania in 2006," said Capt. Tim Allue, director of the Gaming Enforcement Office for the state police, during a news conference at the casino. "This casino was a victim."

While the "sophisticated scheme" is new to Pennsylvania, authorities in Nevada arrested a Las Vegas man in July for operating a similar plan, Toprani said.

Sean Sullivan, Meadows vice president and general manager, said the slots' computer software has been corrected at all 3,750 machines at the casino.

The men were expected to be lodged in the county jail last night on charges of theft, receiving stolen property, unlawful use of a computer and conspiracy. The charges came from a county grand jury investigation.

Casino officials first suspected the men when Nestor, posing as a "high roller," began frequenting the casino in late June, Toprani said.

Laverde, the former Swissvale police officer, acted as Nestor's bodyguard, Toprani said. He wore a police badge pinned to his suit and "on one occasion gestured as if he was carrying a concealed weapon" to protect Nestor, according to a presentment from the grand jury outlining the case.

On June 22, Nestor asked a casino worker to activate a draw poker slot machine's "double up" feature, showing a technician how to do it, the presentment states.

A supervisor told Nestor the casino could not activate the feature without the state Gaming Control Board's permission. The technician disabled the double up feature but forgot to save the changes, the presentment states.

During the next two months, Nestor, Laverde and Loushil visited the casino 15 times, authorities said.

The investigation showed Nestor repeatedly used "a complex series of button presses and screen changes to cause the slot machine to have an error in its programming. This resulted in the machine displaying a false jackpot," according to the presentment.

The largest payout was $40,550 on July 22, the presentment states. On seven other occasions, the men hit jackpots of more than $20,000, including four times on Aug. 26.

"They essentially found a money tree," Toprani said.

Nestor always manipulated the poker machine alone, but all three men cashed out the winning checks, authorities said.

On Nestor's last visit Aug. 31, state police troopers watched Nestor hit a fraudulent jackpot of $2,350, the presentment states.

When he tried to cash out, casino staff said they needed to verify the internal controls on the machine. Nestor "stated he needed to make a phone call and (was) observed leaving the casino in haste," the presentment states.

The men were arrested "without incident" yesterday, Toprani said.

Laverde worked in law enforcement in the 1980s and '90s, and recently lived in Las Vegas, Toprani said.

Swissvale police and borough officials did not return calls seeking comment.

A woman at Loushil's home who identified herself as a relative said, "He's innocent. No comment."

The draw poker machine was removed from the casino floor and is being kept for evidence, Toprani said.

The men played slots at Presque Isle Downs in Erie and at Rivers Casino in the North Shore, Toprani said. Investigators found no evidence of theft at those casinos. State authorities are working with West Virginia investigators to determine whether any thefts occurred over state lines, Toprani said.

The grand jury is still investigating whether anyone else was involved.

"The message is clear," Sullivan said. "Commit a crime at a Pennsylvania casino, and you will be held accountable and caught."

[reho33]

On the Pa Gaming's website :

http://www.pgcb.state.pa.us/?pr=288

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

October 7th, 2009
COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA

Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board
P.O. Box 69060
Harrisburg, PA 17106-9060
CONTACT

Doug Harbach or Richard McGarvey (717) 346-8321
PA Gaming Control Board Key To Uncovering Alleged Slot Machine Cheating At the Meadows
Commonwealth Tax Collections Not Compromised

HARRISBURG: The diligent observation of an on-site Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board employee triggered the start of an investigation that led to the arrest of three men charged with the alleged theft of more than $420,000 from The Meadows Racetrack Casino in Washington County.

The charges filed Monday by Washington County District Attorney Steven M. Tropani were the culmination of a Pennsylvania State Police investigation that began when a PGCB Casino Compliance Representative observed and reported the potentially illegal actions.

In addition to the work of the PGCB’s on-site staff, representatives of the agency’s Gaming Laboratory and Auditing staff assisted the State police investigators.

Gaming Control Board Executive director Kevin O’Toole says it was the cooperative efforts of the State Police, District Attorney, Meadows staff and the PGCB that allowed this investigation and charges to come together.

“This level of cooperation is exactly what the citizens of Pennsylvania expect and the legislature envisioned in order to create safe environments at casinos and to keep crime from reoccurring,� O’Toole says.

Two western Pennsylvania legislators, State Senator J. Barry Stout (D-46) and State Representative Tim Solobay (D-48) agreed that such a partnership between law enforcement and those responsible for casino regulation worked well at The Meadows.

"I would like to commend the cooperation between the State Gaming Control Board, the Pennsylvania State Police, the Washington County District Attorney's Office and the owners and operators of the Meadows in uncovering this scandal. The work of all involved is a testament that the system works," stated Senator Stout.

"There's been a lot of unfair comments that the key gaming oversight agencies are not effectively working together to protect the safety of Pennsylvania citizens," says Solobay, "I hope this tremendous display of cooperation between the Gaming Control Board and State Police in helping local prosecutors catch the criminals responsible for allegedly stealing from The Meadows will finally dispel those assertions. Patrons of our casinos are well-served by the diligence of state oversight which make facilities like The Meadows a safe environment to spend time."

O’Toole adds that the alleged theft did not compromise the correct count of taxes due the Commonwealth and therefore no loss of tax revenue occurred.

NOTE: THE PRESS RELEASE AND GRAND JURY PRESENTMENT ISSUED BY THE WASHINGTON COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY’S OFFICE CAN BE ACCESSED AND DOWNLOADED AT THIS LINK:

http://www.pgcb.state.pa.us/files/communications/20091007_Washington_County_DA_PR.pdf

[knagl]

Aah, they didn't do anything to the software -- they were exploiting the "double down cheat" that I've been reading about lately.  That makes a little more sense.

[TZtech]

Sadly the technician who was only trying to give good customer service is now probably without a job because the manufacturers and regulators missed this glitch.

[CommTech]

Aah, they didn't do anything to the software -- they were exploiting the "double down cheat" that I've been reading about lately.  That makes a little more sense.

Please explain. I can't find anything (Google) about a "double down cheat", or a double up cheat.

[stayouttadabunker]

HoHo!
He should get a real good lawyer and argue this point:

The machine "allowed" him to "play" it that way...
thereby, putting the blame on the casino!
if the casino didn't like the way the machine paid out according the way the customer "played it",
then it is too bloody bad the machine "allowed" him to do it!

Basically, if the casino didn't like the way the machine was paying out and
that he was able to "exploit" the machine and get it to display jackpots,
then the casino should have removed the game from the floor...

[knagl]

That's a little hairy, though.  If you can get free candy bars out of a vending machine by holding down a certain combination of buttons and do that thousands of times over, isn't that still theft, despite the fact that the machine lets you do it?

[stayouttadabunker]

I don't know...
has anyone ever argued that point in a court of law?
Sure it doesn't seem "lawful" but
there are crazier things have been passed before lawful bodies and they've passed...
Good thing I'm not a lawyer...
I'd be defending rapists who say that "she spurred me on"...ugh!

[daddy2yea]

Notice from IGT about the problem.


CN:  4633   Rev:   B



MANDATORY FIRMWARE CUSTOMER NOTIFICATION
SUBJECT:   Updated Double Up Warning   DATE:  07 Jul 2009
PRODUCT:   Game King, AVP Emulator   GAME TYPE:  All
SCOPE:  All machines with double up enabled using the programs listed in this CN

REASON FOR CN REVISION:
Revision A – 07 Jul 2009:   Released to distribution contacts.
Revision B – 09 Jul 2009:   Modified the symptoms to include single-denomination games; added the list of affected programs.
SYMPTOM(S):
IGT has been notified that a player, using an unusual series of steps, was able to compromise IGT machines that had double up enabled.  Originally, IGT had identified the symptom as being confined to multi-denomination machines.  Although no single-denomination machines were involved, an internal investigation determined single-denomination machines also have the potential to be compromised.  It is important to note that some of these programs have been in the field over seven years without incident except for the recent issue.

As a precautionary measure, IGT is recommending that double up be disabled.  Replacement programs are being expedited and a CN will be published when replacement programs are available.

The following programs are affected:
Program   Theme
G0001863   3 5 10 PLAY FIVE ACES BONUS POKER
G0001865   3 5 10 PLAY FIVE ACES BONUS POKER
G0002802   3 5 10 PLAY FIVE ACES BONUS POKER
G0002804   3 5 10 PLAY FIVE ACES BONUS POKER
G0001343   3 5 10 PLAY POKER
G0001344   3 5 10 PLAY POKER
G0002180   3 5 10 PLAY POKER
G0002232   3 5 10 PLAY POKER
G0002239   3 5 10 PLAY POKER
G0002310   3 5 10 PLAY POKER
GBE011-000124-001   3 5 10 PLAY POKER
GBE011-000124-002   3 5 10 PLAY POKER
GBE011-000124-003   3 5 10 PLAY POKER
GBE011-000124-004   3 5 10 PLAY POKER
GBE011-000124-005   3 5 10 PLAY POKER
GBE011-000124-007   3 5 10 PLAY POKER
GBE011-000124-009   3 5 10 PLAY POKER
GBE011-000124-010   3 5 10 PLAY POKER
GBE011-000124-011   3 5 10 PLAY POKER
GBE011-000124-012   3 5 10 PLAY POKER
GBE011-000124-013   3 5 10 PLAY POKER
GBE011-000124-014   3 5 10 PLAY POKER
GBE011-000124-018   3 5 10 PLAY POKER
GBE011-001816-001   3 5 10 PLAY POKER
G0002494   4 5 BONUS POKER
G0001653   DOUBLE DRAW ACES
G0001844   DOUBLE DRAW ACES
G0002796   DOUBLE DRAW ACES
G0002798   DOUBLE DRAW ACES
G0001944   DRAW 6 POKER
G0001945   DRAW 6 POKER
G0002812   DRAW 6 POKER
G0002814   DRAW 6 POKER
G0003669   DRAW 6 POKER
G0001860   FIVE ACES POKER
G0001862   FIVE ACES POKER
G0002799   FIVE ACES POKER
G0002801   FIVE ACES POKER
L0000705   GAME KING 5.0M
L0000816   GAME KING 5.0M
G0001640   GAME KING 5.0M
G0001800   GAME KING 5.0M 
G0001805   GAME KING 5.0M
G0001832   GAME KING 5.0M
G0001882   GAME KING 5.0M
G0002099   GAME KING 5.0M
G0002100   GAME KING 5.0M
G0002106   GAME KING 5.0M
G0002190   GAME KING 5.0M
G0002234   GAME KING 5.0M
G0002290   GAME KING 5.0M
G0002291   GAME KING 5.0M
G0002620   GAME KING 5.0M
G0002833   GAME KING 5.0M
G0003114   GAME KING 5.0M
G0003125   GAME KING 5.0M
GBE011-000120-001   GAME KING 5.0M
GBE011-000120-002   GAME KING 5.0M
GBE011-000120-003   GAME KING 5.0M
GBE011-000120-004   GAME KING 5.0M
GBE011-000120-005   GAME KING 5.0M
G0001553   GAME KING 5.1P
G0002104   GAME KING 5.1P
G0002351   GAME KING 5.1P
G0002725   GAME KING 5.1P
G0002821   GAME KING 5.1P
G0003130   GAME KING 5.1P
G0002143   GAME KING 5.2
G0003056   GAME KING 5.2
G0004574   GAME KING 5.2
G0004616   GAME KING 5.2
GBE011-001J78-001   GAME KING 5.2
G0002123   GAME KING 5.3P
G0002438   GAME KING 5.3P
G0003131   GAME KING 5.3P
G0003325   GAME KING 5.3P
G0003633   GAME KING 5.3P
G0003635   GAME KING 5.3P
G0003643   GAME KING 5.3P
G0003644   GAME KING 5.3P
G0003687   GAME KING 5.3P
GBE011-000122-002   GAME KING 5.3P
GBE011-000122-003   GAME KING 5.3P
GBE011-000122-004   GAME KING 5.3P
GBE011-000122-005   GAME KING 5.3P
GBE011-000122-007   GAME KING 5.3P
GBE011-000122-009   GAME KING 5.3P
GBE011-000122-010   GAME KING 5.3P
GBE011-001S75-001   GAME KING 5.3P
GBE011-001S72-001   GAME KING 5.7P
G0001949   MAX OUT POKER
G0002353   PALIO POKER
G0002354   PALIO POKER
G0002879   PALIO POKER
G0002881   PALIO POKER
G0002156   PICK A PAIR POKER
G0002159   PICK A PAIR POKER
G0002815   PICK A PAIR POKER
G0002818   PICK A PAIR POKER

[jay]

What they failed to add in that bulletin is ....... "to verify if this problem impacts you ..... do the following steps......"   

I am sure I would be able to help at least a dozen casinos identify this problem...... 

[StatFreak]

What they failed to add in that bulletin is ....... "to verify if this problem impacts you ..... do the following steps......"   

I am sure I would be able to help at least a dozen casinos identify this problem...... 

Yeah, those customer notifications aren't much help, are they?