CORPUS CHRISTI, TEXAS (AP) -- An Aces Wired entity pled guilty to operating an illegal gambling operation. In addition to the corporation's plea, founder and board member Gordon Graves, 72, pled guilty to felony tampering with evidence charges.The state's investigation into Aces Wired and its executives is believed to be the largest coordinated gambling prosecution in Texas history.
Aces Wired, Inc. resolved its legal battle with state authorities over its “Amusement With Prize” business system. A plea agreement covering company directors, officers, and employees dismisses all criminal cases brought against more than two-dozen employees across the state as well as parent company Aces Wired in three Texas counties.
The cases stemmed from a gambling investigation by the Texas Attorney General’s office and raids conducted in May 2008 at amusement centers located in Corpus Christi, Fort Worth, and San Antonio.
Aces Wired contended that its electronic game technology was legal because it rewarded players with prize points that could only be redeemed for noncash merchandise.
In Nueces County, all cases were dismissed against the following three officers of Aces Wired: Ken Griffith, President & CEO; Knowles Cornwell, Executive Vice President & COO; and Jeremy Tyra, Vice President. Each of the three officers agreed to enter a guilty plea for one Class A misdemeanor offense of Hindering Apprehension in state district court in Tarrant County. They agreed to pay a fine of $4000, with adjudication to be deferred for a two-year period. Gordon Graves, the Chairman of the Board of Aces Wired, agreed to enter a plea of guilty to one third degree felony of Tampering with Evidence in Nueces and Tarrant County with adjudication to be deferred for a two-year period and agreed to pay a $10,000 fine in each county. All other charges filed by the government against the four executives were dismissed under the terms of the agreement.
After entering his plea in Nueces County, Mr. Graves stated, “We believed that the Amusement With Prize electronic system was designed to comply with the spirit and letter of Texas’ gaming laws. The Attorney General and state prosecutors felt differently. Thus, just as the captain of a ship is responsible for the actions of its crew, I accept responsibility and want to protect employees who innocently conducted business on behalf of the company. My plea puts the threat of criminal prosecution to rest for them and lifts a heavy emotional burden off their families.”
Three of the company’s subsidiaries which operated the amusement game centers, agreed to enter a plea of guilty to one state jail felony count for promoting gambling and to one Class A misdemeanor count of possession of a gambling device in Nueces, Bexar, and Tarrant Counties. The subsidiaries will pay a $10,000 fine for the state jail charge and a $4,000 fine for the misdemeanor count in each county and will also forfeit all property seized by the government in each county.
The government agreed that the four company executives’ adjudication would be deferred for a two-year period. Upon satisfactory completion of the terms of the plea agreement all charges will be dismissed and there will be no conviction. The company and its four executives agreed not to engage in Amusement With Prize business systems in Texas during the period of deferred adjudication, unless in the interim the Legislature clarifies the law concerning such activity.
(Copyright ©2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
