Three E.C. cops charged in casino scam
Family member and two former Harrah's employees also accused in schemes

Font Size:

By BRADLEY COLE Times Staff Writer | Wednesday, August 21, 2002 | (No comments posted.)

CROWN POINT -- Investigators described a twisted web of greed and desperation that led to theft charges against three East Chicago police officers, one of the officer's relatives and two former Harrah's East Chicago Casino employees who allegedly fixed games at the casino early this year.

The Lake County prosecutor's office announced Tuesday that felony theft charges were filed against East Chicago police Officers Juan P. Lopez, 26, William Pabey, 47, and Alan M. Slivko, 41, and former Harrah's employees Patricia Alvarado, 25, of Gary, and Jerame Nathan Hicks, 25, of East Chicago. Donna Flores, 40, of East Chicago, a distant relative of Lopez's, was also charged with theft.

In addition, charges of felony attempted theft were filed against Alvarado, Hicks, Lopez and Slivko.

An investigation by the Indiana State Police revealed Lopez, Pabey and Slivko each received the winning combinations for a contest called Crack the Code at the casino. Lopez, who won the $1,000 game on Feb. 21, was furnished the winning combination by Hicks, according to the prosecutor's office. Hicks also allegedly provided winning combinations to Flores, Pabey and Slivko, who each won $1,000 on Feb. 22.

The three police officers have been on paid administrative leave since the May 23 meeting of the city's Board of Public Works and Safety.

East Chicago Police Chief Frank Alcala, who was in court in Lafayette on Tuesday, said he was very saddened by the charges filed against the three officers.

"The officers will continue to be on administrative leave until the conclusion of the criminal proceedings," Alcala said. "And then they will face departmental discipline in this matter."

If convicted, the officers and others who were charged face up to three years in prison per felony count.

Lopez told police he participated in the schemes because "he was about to lose his house." According to the probable cause affidavit, he said he needed the money Slivko, Pabey and Flores had won in the February contests so that his home would not be repossessed. Lopez got a share of each of the winnings.

The affidavit detailed the following sequence of events:

Lopez said on Feb. 20, he received a call from Hicks, who was a Harrah's employee and friend. He said Hicks told him Alvarado, an employee in Harrah's promotion department, had taken the winning codes for the Crack the Code contest and asked if he'd like to get the winning number and play. Lopez said Hicks told him he'd have to split the money three ways. It was agreed that Lopez would receive $300, and Hicks and Alvarado would receive the other $700.

Police said Alvarado made a copy of the numbers, which were faxed to the casino from Texas where the game administrator was located.

Lopez said he played the game and won the money, giving Hicks the $700 when Hicks came to his home. He said Hicks told him that Alvarado wanted to make more money and asked if he knew anyone else who may want in on the deal.

Lopez admitted he then approached Slivko, Pabey and his distant relative, Flores, to play the game. He told them they could only keep $300, and the rest would go to Hicks and Alvarado.

Police said Slivko admitted that Lopez had asked him to participate in the rigged contest, promising Slivko he could a keep a portion of the prize money. Slivko said he received the combination and won the game, later giving Lopez $700 and keeping $300 for himself. Slivko told police he assumed an employee had stolen the winning numbers and given them to Lopez.

Pabey told police Lopez came to his home on the morning of Feb. 22 and asked him to play the game. He said Lopez gave him the winning combination. He said after he won, he gave Lopez $600 to $700 and kept $300 for himself. He told police he knew it was wrong for Lopez to have the winning combination.

Flores said Lopez also came to her home on the morning of Feb. 22 and told her he had the winning code numbers for the game. He asked if she would help him because he was having financial problems. Flores said Lopez told her Hicks had supplied him with the winning numbers. She said she was under the impression that Hicks was getting a share of the winnings. She said when she punched in the code number and won, she knew she had done something wrong.

Lopez said after Slivko and Pabey won $1,000, he received $150, while Hicks received $200 and Alvarado received $350 from each of the contests. He said Flores gave her $300 to him.

Police said attempted theft charges were the result of a second scheme Alvarado, Hicks, Slivko and Lopez attempted with the Super Sweepstakes contest May 17.

Alvarado told police that a week and a half before the contest Hicks called her at work and gave her Slivko's Harrah's player account number. She said Hicks told her to enter Slivko in the game and then rig it so Slivko, who visited the casino often, could win the $5,000 prize. The money was to be split between Alvarado, Hicks, Lopez and whoever won the game. She said she was told because Slivko lost a lot of money at the casino and lived in Schererville, no one would suspect anything.

On May 16, Alvarado said Lopez called her and asked her if she was going to fix the game so Slivko would win. She said Lopez told her she would be paid $1,500 if she rigged the contest.

Alvarado said the list of winners appeared on a computer screen and had to be hand-written then handed to the boat's captain to read over the casino's loudspeakers. She said she was supposed to pull Slivko's name as the first-place prize winner, but didn't want to do it.

Police said the scheme fell apart when Slivko called Michael Muskin, director of security for Harrah's casino, on May 14 or 15 and told him he "had crooked employees." He said Slivko told him people were conspiring to fix the Super Sweepstakes drawing. He then told Muskin how Lopez approached him about the scam on May 13 or 14. He said the scam, which was set up with Hicks, would involve attempting to manipulate the computer into picking Slivko's name. He said they would then split the money four ways.

Police, working with Slivko, set it up so Lopez would be at the casino for the 8 p.m. drawing. Police instructed Slivko to cash the winning voucher and have Lopez meet him near the women's restroom, so the transaction could be taped.

At 7:05 p.m., Slivko and Lopez entered the casino and went to the Total Rewards Booth where Slivko entered the contest. The two then played the $1 slots and waited for Slivko's name to be called.

Police said Slivko's name was not picked, and Alvarado did not replace the winner's name with Slivko's to allow him to win.

Bradley Cole can be reached at bradcole@nwitimes.com or (219) 933-3372.

Back to story No comments posted.

Please note: Comments from readers will be screened and may not be posted immediately. If you don't see your comment perhaps:

It wasn't clear, concise or focused on the topic in the story.
It was a personal attack, vulgar, explicit or degrading, used actual or implied profanity or contained potentially libelous statements.
It accused someone of being guilty of a crime.
It promoted violence or illegal acts.
It contained telephone numbers or street addresses, or e-mail addresses and links to Web sites other than nwi.com or government agencies.

In no way do these comments represent the views of The Times or Lee Enterprises.

Passionate views, pointed criticism and critical thinking are welcome. Name-calling, crude and profane language and personal abuse are not welcome.

Reader comments will not be edited - they will be approved or declined. They may be used in the print edition of the newspaper.

If you feel a posted comment has violated these guidelines, please email our New Media team the commenter's name, the comment and a link to the article.

For more information please read our Terms of Service.

Back to story No comments posted.

Post a comment Once your comments are approved, they will appear here.

Marketplace

Sections

Services

Other Publications

Search