South Union man sentenced for illegal gambling
A South Union Township man accused of running an illegal betting operation out of a Republic pharmacy was sentenced to a term of probation Friday.
Sidney Jay Winfrey, 52, of 350 Brownfield Lane was charged in November by the state police organized crime task force with running illegal lottery games, selling illegal lottery tickets, selling illegal raffle tickets and pool selling and bookmaking.
Fayette County Judge Nancy D. Vernon sentenced Winfrey to a term of probation Friday morning after Winfrey pleaded guilty to running illegal lottery games and prosecutors withdrew the remaining charges against him.
According to police, the investigation into Winfrey began in April 2009 after an informant said Winfrey was a “known bookie” in the Uniontown area, and he was known to keep large sums of money on hand at his home.
Police said a second confidential informant said Winfrey is a known bookie and also was active in dealing with stolen property. Winfrey frequently arrived at Redstone Pharmacy on Sunday mornings to settle the week’s bets, police said.
Police said surveillance confirmed that Winfrey met with various people in a back room of the pharmacy to “collect payments and make payouts.”
During the course of the investigation, police searched Winfrey’s trash on three occasions and each time found bet sheets, raffle tickets, strip tickets and tally sheets for raffle sales.
Among the findings were tickets to benefit “S&J Hunting and Fishing;” eight $17,000 tickets to benefit “West Side Social Club” based on the Pennsylvania Lottery and one $8,000 ticket to benefit “P&E Building Fund.”
On Oct. 28, Winfrey’s home was searched and more than $74,000 in cash was found in bedrooms in the home. Also found were financial documents, raffle tickets, unsold raffle tickets, raffle-ticket stubs, bland promissory notes, financial statements and gambling documents and records, police said.