DATE: Saturday, October 11, 1997            TAG: 9710110425

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B7   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY JUNE ARNEY, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: CHESAPEAKE                        LENGTH:   80 lines

4TH MAN CONVICTED IN BINGO FRAUD GETS FINE OF $10,000 THE EX-ACCOUNTANT FOR THE GROUP ALSO CAN'T PLAY BINGO FOR THREE YEARS

The fourth man accused in a scheme to divert hundreds of thousands of dollars from a youth baseball league must pay a $10,000 fine and cannot play bingo for three years, a judge ruled Friday.

Rogelio Legarda, 57, a bingo player at Deep Creek Baseball Association who briefly served as the group's accountant, pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of cheating at gambling for receiving advance knowledge of winning instant bingo tickets. Prosecutors agreed not to pursue a felony charge of conspiracy to embezzle.

Circuit Court Judge S. Bernard Goodwyn ordered Legarda to pay $25,000 - five times the amount of his winnings - before suspending $15,000 of that fine on condition that Legarda stay away from bingo games for three years. The law allows for a fine of five to 10 times the winnings.

Legarda said he was disappointed. ``I'm not happy with the fine,'' he said. ``They didn't consider my losses. They just considered my winnings.''

But Legarda said the prohibition against playing bingo would not cause any hardship. ``I'm not playing bingo anymore,'' he said. ``I'm targeted already, so I don't want to bring problems to anyone's group.''

Assistant Attorney General Russ Stone said he thought the judge's decision to suspend part of the fine and restrict Legarda's bingo activities was appropriate. ``The whole purpose is for people to be able to play an honest game,'' Stone said.

John R. Cencich, a special agent with the Virginia Charitable Gaming Commission, who led the investigation, said the case was based on complaints by at least seven concerned citizens.

``I think what happened in this trial was a victory for the honest players who come in and want to play bingo and help raise money for charities,'' he said.

Edward J. Fuhr, chairman of the commission, estimates that in the past six months, the commission has received 400 tips from people alleging problems in gaming across the state.

The latest conviction in Chesapeake is further illustration of how bad the problems are in charitable gaming in Virginia, Fuhr said Friday.

``Unfortunately, I think we're going to have to see a lot more actions like this before Virginia's games are clean,'' he said. ``A lot of people think of innocent bingo games in the church basement. That's not what we have in Virginia. We have a $225 million-a-year industry, all cash, and historically one requiring no record-keeping. It's an invitation to abuse.''

Legarda received winning bingo numbers from then-Deep Creek game manager George West from July 1, 1996, to Feb. 1, 1997, according to the prosecutor.

From the witness stand, Cencich provided several different versions of the amount of Legarda's winnings.

Cencich testified that during a March interview, Legarda told him he had received winning ticket numbers 30 times on winning tickets worth $400 each. Legarda also told the agent that he received winning ticket numbers about 26 to 30 times for winning tickets worth $250 each. Cencich calculated the value of those winnings as at least $18,500.

Cencich also testified that an analysis of cash and checks paid out to people whose names and Social Security numbers Legarda admitted using totaled $54,289, including legitimate and fraudulent winnings.

Testifying in his own defense, Legarda said he estimated his winnings at $5,000 or $6,000.

It was the judge's job to determine which dollar amount should be the basis for the fine.

Earlier this month, former youth league bingo manager West was convicted of running an illegal gambling operation, a felony, and of winning by cheating. The judge dismissed seven counts of embezzlement and one count of conspiracy to embezzle. West is scheduled to be sentenced Nov. 20.

Jeffrey G. Moran, vice president of Baltimore-based bingo supplier Frank Moran and Sons, was convicted Sept. 11 of falsifying a gaming invoice. He was ordered to pay restitution of $24,310 to Deep Creek Baseball Association and was given a 12-month suspended sentence.

Keith H. Ward, 64, of Chesapeake, a former employee of Moran and Sons, pleaded guilty last month to falsifying documents submitted to a state agency. He was sentenced to six months in jail, all suspended, with no fine.

The Deep Creek Baseball Association has filed a multimillion-dollar civil lawsuit against West, four other individuals and Moran and Sons, claiming they embezzled more than $1 million from the Deep Creek program. KEYWORDS: BINGO FRAUD

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