NORTH STRABANE TOWNSHIP, Pa. -- One three men charged in a scheme that involved allegedly stealing more than $400,000 from the Meadows Casino was in court on Thursday.
Patrick Loushil, 42, waived his preliminary hearing and will have his case go straight to trial.
Prosecutors said Loushil was part of a scheme that allegedly exploited a glitch in slot machines to get inflated pay-outs.
"We believe a slot option on the machine was changed, and that is attributable to at least one of the defendants, and we look forward to putting that evidence forward," said Washington County District Attorney Steven Toprani.
The other suspects in the case are former Swissvale police officer Kerry Laverde, 49, and Andre Nestor, 37. Nestor and Laverde previously pleaded not guilty and also waived their preliminary hearings, agreeing to stand trial at a later date.
Defense attorneys have previously said that the so-called scheme was clever, but crime-free and the men simply outwitted slot machines at the
Meadows Racetrack and Casino.
"What's happening with Pennsylvania is we don't have the specific crimes involving gambling machines like the state of Nevada, so what he's been hit with is some of the older theft crimes," said Loushil attorney Christopher Blackwell.
The men are accused of exploiting a software glitch in a slot machine during a summer of jackpots from late June through August. Toprani said the suspects were able to convince a casino worker -- who apparently didn't realize what he was doing -- to enable a "soft" feature or option on the screen of the machine.
They "were able to basically make it pay out at their will" from that point forward, according to Toprani.
Loushil was facing 600 counts, which were reduced to 36 on Thursday. Topriani said Loushil was a minor player in the scheme.
Loushil is facing charges which include unlawful use of a computer, theft and dealing in proceeds of unlawful activities.
His lawyer said his client will fight the remaining charges based on the fact that Pennsylvania doesn't have gambling laws like Vegas, specific to the types of alleged crimes Loushil faces.
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