Trio cheats Meadows Racinos

Trial starts next week in slot machine thefts at Meadows

Two Swissvale men accused of swindling the Meadows Racetrack & Casino out of nearly $430,000 in fraudulent jackpots are set to stand trial next week after a third defendant pleaded guilty Wednesday.

Andre Michael Nestor, 39, and his roommate Kerry Laverde, 51, are each facing more than 650 felony counts of theft, receiving stolen property, criminal conspiracy, computer trespassing and other charges in what Washington County officials called one of the biggest casino heists ever.

Jury selection in their dual trial before Common Pleas Court Judge Janet Moschetta Bell is slated to begin Monday. Both men are free on $100,000 bail.

County District Attorney Steven Toprani accused the pair of masterminding a "sophisticated scheme" to exploit a software glitch in a slot machine causing it to generate false, double jackpots.

A third man charged in the theft, Patrick Loushil, 43, of Brookline, pleaded guilty on Wednesday to a misdemeanor charge of unsworn falsification and is expected to testify against the other men in exchange for probation. More than 300 criminal charges against him were dropped.

"He has cooperated from the beginning in return for a lesser sentence," said Mr. Loushil's lawyer, Christopher Blackwell.

According to casino and law enforcement officials, here is how the scheme worked:

Mr. Nestor, who told a judge last year that he had been jobless and living on Social Security disability income for 15 years, flaunted large amounts of cash to casino employees and cultivated an image as a so-called "high roller" during 14 visits to the North Strabane casino from June 2009 to August 2009.

Mr. Nestor played at only the most expensive slot machines in the casino, placing wagers of between $1 and $25 per credit in an area reserved for high-limit gamblers. On the main floor of the casino, most of the players patronize slot machines with bets ranging from 1 cent to 25 cents.

Mr. Laverde, a former Swissvale police officer, acted as Mr. Nestor's bodyguard, flashing his police badge to casino employees and hinting that he carried a weapon.

The pair, according to police, had knowledge of a software glitch in one of the high-bet slot machines. In order to expose the glitch, a special "double-up" feature had to be internally activated.

The men persuaded casino technicians to alter "soft" options on the machines, such as volume and screen brightness controls. Such perks aren't unusual for high-rollers, who can wager anywhere from a few hundred to thousands of dollars in one day.

One employee, who was not criminally charged or accused of wrongdoing, agreed to enable the double-up feature on the machine with the glitch.

Normally, such a feature would allow a player to risk doubling his winnings or potentially losing them all. The double-up feature isn't usually enabled on the machines in part because it's unpopular with most gamblers, who are unwilling to risk large amounts of money.

With the double-up feature unlocked, the men allegedly entered a series of special keystrokes into the slot machine, making the screen display bogus jackpots which weren't being recorded in the machine's internal system.

If the machine had internally recorded such winnings, it likely would have sooner drawn the attention of casino officials, who monitor wins and losses.

Mr. Nestor and Mr. Laverde allegedly took turns cashing in their jackpots so as not to appear suspicious, and enlisted the support of Mr. Loushil, who agreed to cash in five jackpots for his friends, Mr. Blackwell said.

The trio cashed in winnings totaling $429,985.

The scheme eventually unraveled when a state gaming control board agent noticed the high payoffs and began an investigation.

Mr. Toprani obtained a grand jury indictment of the men in October 2009.

Casino vice president and general manager Sean Sullivan said the questionable machine had been removed and that steps had been taken to ensure that no other machine is vulnerable.

Mr. Toprani said he expected the trial to take a week or more.