By LEE NOBLE
Authorities closed down dozens of bars and found about $1 million stashed in a wall in a local convicted felon’s home Monday. Dozens of others were also arrested in a multi-county raid. More than 20 arrests are still pending.
Authorities characterize John L. Neal, 68, as head of the biggest known organized crime operation in area history.
Indiana State Excise Police, Anderson police and members of the Madison County SWAT Team laid siege to Neal’s assets and arrested him in a coordinated effort across four counties Monday morning.
“Mr. Neal may be the most notorious organized crime figure in the history of Indiana,” said Madison County Prosecutor Rodney Cummings. “This man has enough money that he tends to corrupt local officials.”
The arrest and searches are the result of an 18-month investigation into Neal’s business practices, which span 20 years and have landed him in prison twice, according to Cummings and reports from excise police.
The searched and seized properties include Neal’s accountant’s office, two offices relating to a video gambling machine service, dozens of alcohol-related establishments in which Neal is said to have off-the-record partial ownership and millions of dollars of stashed cash.
Some 29 search or arrest warrants in Madison and Delaware counties were executed simultaneously beginning at 9 a.m. Monday. Also issued were 52 arrest warrants for other individuals wanted in connection with illegal gambling, according to a news release from the state’s Alcohol and Tobacco Commission.
By Monday afternoon, more than 28 people aside from Neal were booked into the Madison County jail in relation to this case, most facing charges of professional gambling and money laundering.
Many are part-owners or employees of the bars under scrutiny.
The Anderson Police Department’s lead investigator in the case, Detective Joel Sandefur, confirmed that officers were searching for records in some 23 bars across Madison, Delaware, Henry and Randolph counties.
Dave Hurst, chairman of the Indiana Alcohol and Tobacco Commission, was at Neal’s home, on a quiet country road between Yorktown and Daleville, as officers and agents scoured it for evidence.
He confirmed the prosecutor’s report that investigators found upwards of $1 million cash hidden in a secret wall in Neal’s home.
“The house is going to be taken apart to be examined pretty thoroughly,” said Cummings.
Heath said 60 officers from the state’s excise police, 20 from Anderson police along with Madison County SWAT Team members and a few FBI agents helped in the sting.
According to the probable cause affidavit for the search warrants, Anderson undercover police officers infiltrated the local bar scene with an undercover officer who eventually gained employment at one of the bars. They listened in on conversations and observed the illegal business and gambling practices all pointing back to Neal.
In addition to the money at Neal’s home, Cummings said about $2 million had been discovered in his bank accounts as of early Monday morning.
According to Cummings, Neal was arrested in 1994 on illegal gambling charges but was acquitted in 1995. Neal was also the target in a federal investigation into his illegal gambling operations in the late 1990s. He pleaded guilty to four counts of money laundering and spent 3 1/2 years in a Terre Haute federal prison.
The three-year probation from his federal charges forbade him to have alcoholic beverage permits or be involved in related businesses, according to the Alcohol and Tobacco Commission’s news release.
Following his release from federal prison, excise officers and Anderson police detectives began to receive complaints that Neal was rebuilding his criminal enterprise.
Sandefur and Monty D. McMahan, an excise police detective, allege that Neal’s daughter, Vicky Massey, continued his underground enterprises during his incarceration. Her Yorktown home was also searched in Monday’s raids.
Detectives searched Mickey’s Tax Service in Muncie, as well. Investigators allege that Mickey Brock is known to do taxes for Neal and many of the businesses with which he is associated.
Video Services and Muncie Coin are the two Muncie businesses investigators call the “hub” of Neal’s illegal video gambling operation that involve many Madison County bars.
Do-Len-Ski’s Supper Club in Chesterfield, Pelletrino’s in Anderson and The Curve in Alexandria are just a few of the establishments in question.
Neal now faces felony charges of professional gambling, promoting professional gambling, money laundering and corrupt business influence. Neal was held on $1 million full cash bond.
Formal charges will likely be filed by the prosecutor’s office against Neal and the others involved later this week, but the high volume of arrests could delay proceedings.
In addition to the criminal charges filed against Neal, the state has filed a civil suit, restraining order and seizure orders for bank accounts and assets at a bank in Indianapolis, one in Evansville, two in Muncie and one in Winchester.
Attorney J. Gregory Garrison, known for his involvement as lead prosecutor in the Mike Tyson rape trial in the early 1990s, has been called in to deal with the civil case.
John Neal-owned businesses raided and closed Monday
Muncie Coin, 1521 W. Walnut St., Muncie
Video Services, 1520 S. High St., Muncie
The Curve, 112 S. Park Ave., Alexandria
Happy Times, 114 Harrison St., Alexandria
Monty’s Bar, 28 W. Main St., Chesterfield
Big Baby’s, 1929 W. 8th St, Anderson
The Caboose, 16 E. 15th St., Anderson
The Getaway, 2332 Columbus Ave., Anderson
Pelletrino’s, 1422 Meridian St., Anderson
Rick’s Corner Cafe, 2828 Martin Luther King Blvd., Anderson
The Lamplighter, 2424 Arrow Ave., Anderson
LT’s Hideaway, 2017 W. 8th St., Anderson
Do-Len-Ski’s Supper Club, 4239 E. CR 67, Chesterfield
The Spot, 410 E. Main St., Chesterfield
Lonnie’s Bar, 14501 W. Commerce Rd., Daleville
Mississenewa Tavern, 125 W. Harris, Eaton
My Favorite Place, 1900 S. Anderson St., Suite 7, Elwood
Gaston Gardens, 106 W. Elm St., Gaston
The Anchor Lounge, 3535 S. Ebright, Muncie
Big John’s Bar, 402 W. 8th St., Muncie
By-Pass Bar and Grill, 3520 S. Meeker Ave., Muncie
Chance’s R Bar, 3421 S. Walnut St., Summitville
Stag Bar, 2801 S. Madison Ave., Muncie
Village Inn, 2221 E. Jackson St., Muncie
