Miami News-Record
Thursday, October 24, 1996
Testimony: Walker paid off for protection
By Ron Holmes
Miami News – Record
TULSA – While they remain tight-lipped about the extent of their arsenal, the “smoking guns” rolled out by federal prosecutors Wednesday proved a bit rusty.
In the third day of the trial of Ottawa County Sheriff James “Ed” Walker on 12 counts of extortion, illegal gambling and obstruction of justice, a father and son vending machine team opened the string of witnesses called by U.S. Attorney Steve Lewis, but defense attorney Gary Richardson, who promised earlier in the week to expose corruption in Ottawa County, whittled away at their testimony and in the process revealed some fascinating details.
George Roberts, a Neosho Mo., vending machine operator, told the court that he made a deal with Walker in 1993 to pay 10 percent of the income from illegal gambling machines to the sheriff in exchange for “protection.” Part of the deal, he said, was that Walker would provide information on pending raids of the businesses which had such machines.
Roberts said that Walker told him the sheriff department needed money for deputies and cars and that it was customary in the past to pay off the sheriff office.
“I’ve been there a long time,” he said. “No one ever asked me before”.
Much of the cross-examination, focused on two letters which Walker sent to Ottawa County bar owners, telling them to go remove illegal gambling machines. Roberts said that Walker told him of the letters before they were sent and told him to tell the business owners to ignore them.
In the first letter, dated June 9, 1994, Walker warned bar owners that he would not tolerate serving alcohol to minors or drug activity and said, “Another area I have received complaints is in regards to business establishments making paybacks in regards to machines which are marked “For Amusement Only.” He warned that paying winners was illegal and said, “Business establishments will be checked in the future to determine if violations of above does exist.”
But in a stronger letter dated Nov. 17, 1994, he told bar owners to remove the machines saying, “It appears at this time that the only way to stop illegal gambling involving these machines is to eliminate the machines. Starting immediately we strongly recommend your establishment to remove all machines. Staring Nov. 25, 1994, deputies will be making rounds at each bar and tavern to determine if all machines have been removed. If any business decides not to remove machines then a daily check will be made and any type of illegal activity will result in immediate arrest.”
Roberts also testified that on one occasion, after machines had been removed, they were replaced when Don Hogan, owner of Hattie’s Bar in commerce called Ottawa County District Attorney Ben Loring.
Roberts, who is awaiting sentencing on related charges and testified as part of a plea agreement, described his operations in a three-state area and his connections with other area machine operators.
Ironically, Roberts said he bought most of his gambling machines from a federal marshal’s auction in Louisville, Ky.
But under cross-examination by Richardson, Roberts admitted his testimony was different from that which he gave the grand jury earlier this year and from a statement he made to federal agents. To many of the questions he answered, “I don’t recall.”
He also admitted that during the time of the alleged payoffs Walker purchased a used pool table from him, paying $600 and getting a receipt.
The charges against Walker stem from the raid last fall by federal agents on several area businesses and the seizure of 78 video gambling machines. A subsequent grand jury resulted in the indictment of numerous persons including Walker.
But the real “smoking gun” was George Roberts’ son Mike, who made the weekly collections and was bag-man of the alleged operation. According to the testimony given so far in the trial, he was the one who made the pay-offs to Walker.
He described how, following his father’s orders, he collected the money, took 10 percent off the top, put it in an envelope, and delivered it to Walker at various meeting places. He told the court that the first payoff was made near the NEO statute. “I was very uncomfortable,” he said.
Mike Roberts also told of a conversation with Hogan several months before Walker became sheriff in which they discussed paying off law enforcement personnel, revealed that he and his father were making $12,000 a month from illegal gambling machines in Ottawa County alone, and said he refused to secretly tape a conversation with Walker for the feds.
His testimony Wednesday differed in several key instances with what he had told federal agents. Roberts insisted the transcript was wrong.
“Did you tell them your statement was wrong before they gave it to us?” asked Richardson.
“Yes,” replied Roberts.
“Who did you tell?” Richardson asked him
“John Russell,” he replied naming the assistant U.S. attorney on the case. ”We went over it several times. We rewrote it.”
At this point in the trial, in a conference at the bench, Richardson apparently requested copies of Roberts’ original statements to federal officials. There was a lengthy delay while the documents were located and Mike Roberts’s testimony was suspended until Thursday.
The prosecution also called Sheree McCabe, who owns the Country Kitchen in Afton and had machines owned by Roberts. She testified that Walker called her and told her it would be to her benefit to make the payoffs, and documentary evidence was introduced which showed two telephone calls from Walker’s residence to her. She also said that after paying for several months she stopped. Her bar was not included in the federal raid last fall and she has not yet been charged. She said that federal agents who visited her told her they were not interested in her machines but wanted to know if she had made payoffs to Walker.
The last witness Wednesday was Myrna DuBoise, owner of Jose’s Bar in Miami. Her establishment was another not included in the federal raid and she also has not been charged so far. She testified that Roberts told her the sheriff was being paid off, but she also claimed the transcript of her interview with the FBI was wrong after Richardson pointed out inconsistencies in her testimony.
DeBoise said that her machines were removed following the raid. “They just disappeared,” she said, and testified she did not know what happened to them.
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