Who is profiting from crime? Casinos?

Nebraska State Senator Brenda Council of Omaha gambled with funds that were not hers at an unnamed casino in Kansas City.  

Casinos are financial institutions with access to patrons' financial records.

They know patrons' financial assets.

Why aren't they compelled to return stolen funds?

In Kansas City - Was it Harrahs [now Caesars]? Ameristar? Isle of Capri? Argosy? Hollywood Casino?

If they are such responsible businesses, why aren't they named? Why aren't they returning stolen funds?

What about Frank Fahrenkopf's "Responsible Gambling Program" that no employees know about?   

Gambling addicts need help to win better lives
Posted: Thursday, September 20, 2012

In pleading guilty earlier this week to misdemeanor public records violations, state Sen. Brenda Council of Omaha declared she was paying the price for her problem gambling. Council’s assertion falls short of the truth because problem gambling is not a victimless illness.

In addition to the addicted gambler, victims can include family members, friends and organizations and, in Council’s case, donors who supported her re-election campaign for the Nebraska Legislature.

Council reportedly gambled away $63,000 in campaign donations, but failed to report the withdrawals from her campaign fund. The state senator must pay court expenses and $500 in fines, but those penalties pale in comparison to the real cost of her gambling problem. That will be evident on Nov. 6 when voters in her Omaha district must decide whether to re-elect Council to four more years, or send her opponent, Ernie Chambers, back to the Legislature.

To her credit, Council has already repaid $36,000 and is seeking treatment, but those actions won’t repair the scars to her reputation.

If there is a silver lining in this terrible cloud, it is that Council’s case shines a light on problem gambling. Her actions help us to understand how the addiction harms others as it runs its course.

No right-thinking person would take food and clothing from their family, betray the trust of friends who loan them money, or steal and embezzle. However, these are symptoms of a gambling addict heading for rock bottom.

Is there a problem gambler in your life? Consider these signs:

- They’re preoccupied with gambling and always thinking of ways to get more money to gamble.

- Wagers grow larger as the person attempts to achieve more excitement.

- Repeated attempts to cut back or stop gambling fail.

- Gambling becomes an escape from family, work or emotional distress. The addict lies to family, therapists and colleagues to conceal the extent of the problem.

- After losing, the gambler returns another day to get even.

- Forgery, fraud, theft or embezzlement become ways to finance the habit.

- The gambler loses a spouse, job or career opportunity because of the need to gamble, and borrows from friends, family, even strangers to pay off catastrophic losses.

Council said she is ready to move on. We wish her well in her recovery, and we advise suffering families not to wait. Confront your problem gambler. It’s not a victimless addiction, and it won’t end without help.

http://www.kearneyhub.com/news/opinion/gambling-addicts-need-help-to-win-better-lives/article_644a20a0-0336-11e2-a99c-0019bb2963f4.html



Campaign bank accounts and casino records subpoenaed by the Attorney General’s office indicate Council withdrew $63,052.56 in campaign funds to gamble at a casino in Kansas City, Kansas.

http://nebraskaradionetwork.com/2012/09/18/sen-council-pleads-guilty-admits-to-a-gambling-problem-audio/