State deals fraud charges against alleged Turlock poker cheats
By Patty Guerra - pguerra@modbee.com
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tool goes here TURLOCK � In blackjack, nobody stands on 11.
But refusing a third card when his added up to only 11 � and "hitting" when he had 17 � was enough to raise suspicions of Gabriel Urbieta Rodriguez when he played at the Turlock Poker Room.
Attorney General Jerry Brown on Friday announced criminal charges Rodriguez and two accomplices who allegedly used marked cards to win $24,000 in 30 minutes July 12. Rodriguez, 71, In Cha Say, 58, and Robert Younan, 46 � the last a Turlock Poker Room floor supervisor � were arraigned in Stanislaus County Superior Court on Friday.
Attorney General - Robert Younan is a suspect in a card marking crime in Turlock.
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Criminal complaint in Turlock Poker Room case
At first, officials said, Rodriguez lost more than $6,000. But then, playing two or three hands at once, he started winning. Poker room employees grew suspicious and brought new cards to the table; Rodriguez immediately cashed in and left.
Agents with the Bureau of Gambling Control later found the cards Rodriguez had played had been marked with grease; 10s and face cards on the outer edge, and 7s, 8s, and 9s cards were marked at the center.
Poker Room owner Joe Fernandez said the incident was especially unfortunate since it involved a trusted employee. But he praised the rest of his staff for catching onto the scheme and reacting quickly.
"My employees and the bankers were were very astute," he said. The Poker Room got its money back and turned the case over to authorities.
Fernandez said surveillance video showed Say bringing in a large yellow bag and putting it behind Younan, who took something from it before trading out the "shoe", the container that holds three decks of cards for blackjack, at the table where Rodriguez played.
The three are charged with a total of 11 criminal counts including burglary, conspiracy, grand theft and winning by fraudulent means. If convicted, Brown's office said, they could each could face a maximum of three years and eight months in prison.
According to the Attorney General's office, investigators have made 100 felony arrests this year related to gaming-related crimes, such as counterfeit cases, loan sharking, extortion and robbery.
"Card marking cases are actually not very common," said spokewsoman Michelle Quinn.
"This was obviously a very unusual set of circumstances," Stanislaus County District Attorney Birgit Fladager said.
Fernandez said he wanted to prove that his business won't tolerate cheating:
"My deal is hey, if you're going to come to the Turlock Poker Room and try a stunt like that, we'll nail you to the wall."
Bee staff writer Patty Guerra can be reached at pguerra@modbee.com or 578-2343. Follow her at www.twitter.com/turlocknow.
Read more: http://www.modbee.com/2010/10/08/1375033/modesto-state-deals-fraud-charges.html#ixzz11osV9LEU
