2 arrested for rigging lottery

http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/ex-l...jackpot-n699556

A computer whiz implicated in lottery-rigging schemes in four states has now been charged with fixing a jackpot in a fifth.

Wisconsin prosecutors filed a criminal complaint Friday against Eddie Tipton and alleged accomplice Robert Rhodes in connection with a 2007 Megabucks drawing that paid out $783,257.72.

Tipton, 53, was the director of IT security at the Multi-State Lottery Association, the organization that helps run the lottery, including picking the numbers and maintaining security, in 37 states.

Related: Senator Demands Answers on Lottery Rigging

Authorities say he planted code in software for the number-generating machines so they would produce predictable numbers on certain dates. He then had Rhodes buy a ticket with numbers he knew would win and they split the proceeds, the complaint says.

Two years later, Tipton tried to get Rhodes to help him again, showing him a winning ticket for a $16 million jackpot for the Iowa Hot Lotto game, prosecutors said. The IT specialist said he was thinking of having his brother, Tommy, collect it but was worried it would look suspicious since he had won a 2005 Colorado lottery, the court papers say.
Eddie Tipton
Former lottery security officer Eddie Tipton leaves the Polk County Courthouse in Des Moines, Iowa, after his sentencing in a jackpot-fixing scandal. Charlie Neibergall / AP

Rhodes tried and failed to collect the winnings through a third party — triggering an investigation that eventually led to Eddie Tipton on trial. He was convicted last July but has maintained his innocence, saying he was scapegoated by investigators.

Rhodes is scheduled to plead guilty in that case next month, and Tommy Tipton, a former Texas justice of the peace, has also been charged in Iowa.

Court filings in Iowa note that Eddie Tipton also has ties to lottery winners in other states, including Kansas and Oklahoma.

Ya know , it's a shame
This didn't happen somewhere in the Northeast
Like
Jersey....
6-2

http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/Jer...-407967875.html



never let me down.....down....down

Dec. 22, 2016
Several police officers with the Jersey City Police Department are under federal criminal investigation in connection with an alleged private security and no-show job scandal.

Sources familiar with the investigation said as many as 10 police officers could be charged with corruption early next year.
Top Tri-State News Photos
Top Tri-State News Photos

Jersey City police officers can work security jobs while off duty, but private business must hire them through the city and pay extra administrative fees to the city. But a group of officers allegedly ran their own security operation, according to investigators, at times demanding cash payments from construction firms to avoid city rules and fees.

In many cases, off-duty officers were paid even though they did not show up at sites where private security is required, including construction zones and utility work, officials familiar with the investigation said.

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Some cops also allegedly told drivers of oversized vehicles that they had to pay off-duty officers directly in order to get escorted through city streets.

One officer has already pleaded guilty to helping run the scheme: former Jersey City police officer Juan Romaniello pleaded guilty in federal court last month, admitting that he took over $200,000 in impromper payments and never paid taxes on that money, and that his illegal security scheme ran for about six years. What was not known at the time was how many other officers were allegedly involved.



When asked about the investigation, FBI spokesman Michael Whitaker said, “Per official policy, the FBI cannot confirm or deny the existence or non-existence of an investigation. However, combating public corruption is the FBI’s top criminal investigative priority and we encourage the public to call the FBI with any information.”

200K over 6 years, Amazing length for that specific scheme.