What other business would we promote, consider legalizing in the Commonwealth that creates Addiction, puts children at risk, only to reward wealthy investors?
Court cases begin in rash of children left in cars at Parx Casino
By Larry King
Inquirer Staff Writer
Paul Vargas was mum in court Wednesday, but his yellow prison suit spoke loudly.
The Bensalem man, accused of leaving his two sons, 12 and 7, in an SUV outside the Parx Casino last month while he played blackjack, is no courtroom novice.
At 34, Vargas has been convicted of drug possession, fleeing from police, drunken driving, and continuing to drive with a suspended license. A few days after his Aug. 25 arrest outside the casino, he was charged with heroin possession.
The boys are now in their grandparents' care, authorities say, and county child-welfare officials are involved. The boys' mother is also in prison, thanks to a shoplifting rap and a probation violation.
Prepare for more stuck-in-Parx parenting tales as the epidemic of children left in cars at the Bucks County casino begins wending its way through the courts.
Since mid-June, 13 children - ranging from 15 months to 15 years - have been left in vehicles outside the Bensalem casino by their adult caretakers, police say.
Two fathers, a mother, an aunt, and a grandfather have been charged with endangering the welfare of children. All have been scheduled for preliminary hearings this week or next.
Vargas was first. His public defender waived his right to the hearing, and District Judge Joseph Falcone set an Oct. 15 arraignment in Doylestown.
According to court documents, Vargas admitted downing several beers Aug. 25 before setting out with the boys in a Ford Explorer - despite a license suspended because of drunken driving. He bought the children food at a 7-Eleven, and then it was on to Parx, where a few losing blackjack hands consumed the rest of his cash in about 10 minutes, according to court records.
That was long enough for casino patrons to spot the boys in the SUV and flag down a casino security worker, who called police about 10:30 p.m. Vargas was not charged with DUI because his blood-alcohol content was not high enough.
Vargas had been arrested in July for driving with a suspended license. Through his lawyer, he pleaded guilty to that offense Wednesday and was sentenced to 60 days in the county prison.
A month before that, on June 13, police allegedly found Vargas with three small bags of suspected drugs. He was not arrested at the time, but was charged Aug. 30 with heroin possession after tests came back positive for the drug. He faces a preliminary hearing next week on that charge.
Gambling-addiction experts say problem gamblers often have substance-abuse problems.
"There are cross-addictions, sure," said Jim Pappas, executive director of the Council on Compulsive Gambling of Pennsylvania. "We've seen a lot of old-time recovering alcoholics and drug addicts that have 20 years of sobriety walk into the GA [Gamblers Anonymous] rooms. That has been increasing over the last couple or three years."
Deputy District Attorney Blake Jackman, who is prosecuting Vargas, declined to speculate on whether Vargas was so afflicted.
"But certainly driving around with a suspended license, alcohol in his system, and going to the casino is not good parenting, at minimum," Jackman said. A court-ordered "drug and alcohol evaluation will determine whether he has an addiction."
Bucks County District Attorney David W. Heckler said Wednesday that he didn't know why there had been such a delay in bringing drug charges, since county-run drug testing typically takes only two weeks.
"I'm guessing it was not the highest priority of the Bensalem police at the time," he said.
The casino child-endangerment cases, on the other hand, have generated waves of unwanted publicity for Parx officials, who say they have stepped up security.
The attention is apt to continue Thursday, when the next defendant, Donald Waige, 59, steps into court.
His alleged crime: leaving a 15-month-old baby for more than an hour outside Parx.
Court cases begin in rash of children left in cars at Parx Casino
By Larry King
Inquirer Staff Writer
Paul Vargas was mum in court Wednesday, but his yellow prison suit spoke loudly.
The Bensalem man, accused of leaving his two sons, 12 and 7, in an SUV outside the Parx Casino last month while he played blackjack, is no courtroom novice.
At 34, Vargas has been convicted of drug possession, fleeing from police, drunken driving, and continuing to drive with a suspended license. A few days after his Aug. 25 arrest outside the casino, he was charged with heroin possession.
The boys are now in their grandparents' care, authorities say, and county child-welfare officials are involved. The boys' mother is also in prison, thanks to a shoplifting rap and a probation violation.
Prepare for more stuck-in-Parx parenting tales as the epidemic of children left in cars at the Bucks County casino begins wending its way through the courts.
Since mid-June, 13 children - ranging from 15 months to 15 years - have been left in vehicles outside the Bensalem casino by their adult caretakers, police say.
Two fathers, a mother, an aunt, and a grandfather have been charged with endangering the welfare of children. All have been scheduled for preliminary hearings this week or next.
Vargas was first. His public defender waived his right to the hearing, and District Judge Joseph Falcone set an Oct. 15 arraignment in Doylestown.
According to court documents, Vargas admitted downing several beers Aug. 25 before setting out with the boys in a Ford Explorer - despite a license suspended because of drunken driving. He bought the children food at a 7-Eleven, and then it was on to Parx, where a few losing blackjack hands consumed the rest of his cash in about 10 minutes, according to court records.
That was long enough for casino patrons to spot the boys in the SUV and flag down a casino security worker, who called police about 10:30 p.m. Vargas was not charged with DUI because his blood-alcohol content was not high enough.
Vargas had been arrested in July for driving with a suspended license. Through his lawyer, he pleaded guilty to that offense Wednesday and was sentenced to 60 days in the county prison.
A month before that, on June 13, police allegedly found Vargas with three small bags of suspected drugs. He was not arrested at the time, but was charged Aug. 30 with heroin possession after tests came back positive for the drug. He faces a preliminary hearing next week on that charge.
Gambling-addiction experts say problem gamblers often have substance-abuse problems.
"There are cross-addictions, sure," said Jim Pappas, executive director of the Council on Compulsive Gambling of Pennsylvania. "We've seen a lot of old-time recovering alcoholics and drug addicts that have 20 years of sobriety walk into the GA [Gamblers Anonymous] rooms. That has been increasing over the last couple or three years."
Deputy District Attorney Blake Jackman, who is prosecuting Vargas, declined to speculate on whether Vargas was so afflicted.
"But certainly driving around with a suspended license, alcohol in his system, and going to the casino is not good parenting, at minimum," Jackman said. A court-ordered "drug and alcohol evaluation will determine whether he has an addiction."
Bucks County District Attorney David W. Heckler said Wednesday that he didn't know why there had been such a delay in bringing drug charges, since county-run drug testing typically takes only two weeks.
"I'm guessing it was not the highest priority of the Bensalem police at the time," he said.
The casino child-endangerment cases, on the other hand, have generated waves of unwanted publicity for Parx officials, who say they have stepped up security.
The attention is apt to continue Thursday, when the next defendant, Donald Waige, 59, steps into court.
His alleged crime: leaving a 15-month-old baby for more than an hour outside Parx.
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