By Shawn McGrath
The cases of eight more codefendants involved in a broad investigation into illegal gambling at taverns in Madison County have been resolved.
Six of the individuals pleaded guilty to a single misdemeanor count and will avoid jail time, while the charges against two others were dismissed.
All pleaded guilty Monday to aiding in the commission of unlawful gambling, a Class B misdemeanor. They are:
• Jearleen “Jeri” Ingram, 63, of Muncie. She was charged with corrupt business influence, a Class C felony; two counts of promoting professional gambling, a Class D felony; four counts of professional gambling, a Class D felony; and money laundering, also a Class D felony. Ingram operated Town Tavern, 102 S. Main St., Summitville, with Glen E. Ingram, according to a probable cause affidavit. An undercover police officer played a gambling machine several times in the bar during 2006.
• Glen Ingram, 63, of Muncie. He was charged with corrupt business influence; two counts of promoting professional gambling; four counts of professional gambling; and one count of money laundering. Other than the business partnership, the court documents don’t state the relationship between Jearleen and Glen Ingram.
• Tracy R. Mack, 37, of Alexandria. She was charged with money laundering and two counts of professional gambling. Mack was a bartender at Town Tavern, and cashed out a gambling machine after an undercover officer had played it in March 2006, according to an affidavit.
• Ruth A. Britton, 42, of Yorktown. She was charged with money laundering and two counts of professional gambling. Britton had been a bartender at Monty’s Bar, 28 W. Main St., Chesterfield. Britton cashed out an undercover officer when the officer gambled on a machine in June 2006.
• Amy J. Morgan, 41, of Daleville. She was charged with money laundering and two counts of professional gambling. Morgan, a bartender at Monty’s, also cashed out an undercover officer.
• Sara S. Craig, 46, of Anderson. She was charged with corrupt business influence; promoting professional gambling; five counts of professional gambling; and money laundering. Craig had been a manager at V & C’s Lamplighter, 2424 Arrow Ave., according to a probable cause affidavit. Undercover officers played “Cherry Master” video gambling machines in the tavern several times during 2006.
Madison Superior Court 3 Judge Thomas Newman gave each a six-month suspended sentence and ordered them to serve a year of formal probation. All other charges were dropped with the plea agreements.
Newman dropped the charges Monday against Jason L. Presley and Kyle R. Charlton because Henry County Prosecutor Kit Crane, the special prosecutor appointed to the case, failed to bring them to trial within a year.
• Presley, 28, of Anderson, had been charged with corrupt business influence; two counts of promoting professional gambling; five counts of professional gambling; and money laundering. Presley had been manager at Dolenski’s, 4239 E. County Road 67, Chesterfield.
• Charlton, 26, of Chesterfield, had been charged with money laundering and three counts of professional gambling. Charlton, a bartender at Dolenski’s, had twice cashed out an undercover officer who gambled on machines in 2006, according to court documents.
Crane said their cases could be reinvestigated and he didn’t rule out the possibility of new charges being filed. He attributed the dismissals to an administrative error.
“It’s an unfortunate administrative miscue,” he said. “Hindsight being the way it is, I should have checked all of these 39 defendants to make sure trial dates were set.”
The cases against about 10 other defendants, included John L. Neal, have not been resolved. Prosecutors allege that Neal was at the center of the purported organized gambling ring.
Neal, 70, of Yorktown, remains in minimum security at the Ashland, Ky., Federal Correctional Institution, according to information from the Federal Bureau of Prisons. The former Teamsters union leader is expected to be released in November.
Crane has previously said the criminal case against Neal, who faces more than 70 felony charges, won’t move forward until he’s released from federal custody.
