AUBURN – A local fraternal group was fined $5,000 Thursday for allowing an illegal gambling operation at its Lewiston headquarters.
The Lewiston Eagles Aerie 618 was charged last August with seven counts of unlawful gambling for allowing the use of video gambling machines at its building at 1327 Sabattus St.
Gerald Nichols, the club’s president, appeared Thursday in Androscoggin County Superior Court and pleaded guilty to all seven counts.
Three of the charges were felonies, connected to three occasions in the fall of 2003 when the group took in more than $1,000 a day through the gambling activities.
For those more serious charges, Justice Ellen Gorman fined the group $1,000 apiece.
The other four charges were misdemeanors because the profits weren’t as large. Gorman attached a $500 fine to each of those.
In addition, the group was ordered to pay $865 in fines.
Video gambling machines are legal in Maine as long as cash prizes aren’t awarded.
The club was charged as part of an investigation by the Maine State Police Gaming and Weapons unit. Police targeted the club after someone called to complain.
After receiving the complaint, a state police investigator went into the club and discovered that two video gambling machines were paying out cash prizes. Police did not seize the machines, but Eagles officers were ordered to stop offering money as winnings.
According to Deputy District Attorney Craig Turner, who prosecuted the case for the state, Nichols was not the president at the time of the bust and wasn’t involved in the gambling. He simply represented the group Thursday as its new president.
Maine State Police have been cracking down in recent years on illegal gambling at businesses and fraternal groups.
Other chapters of the Eagles have been charged in previous raids. In 1999, the Biddeford Eagles Aerie 804 was raided and police seized video machines, bar receipts and cash. That group eventually paid $15,000 in fines.
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