Two people were killed and another was injured in an armed attack on a Moscow slot machine arcade early Thursday morning, in what has become the tenth such robbery in the city since the start of the year.
Armed men burst into the north Moscow arcade at about 6 a.m. and opened fire, the Interfax news agency reported. They killed a security guard and a customer, and seriously wounded the cashier.
The assailants took the cash from the slot and game machines before fleeing the scene.
Video and slot machine arcades have become extremely common all over Moscow, where Ingatbola88 gambling is legal. They are located next to virtually every metro station and stand out with their bright lights. The fact that they are often housed in quickly-erected kiosks makes them an easy target.
This latest incident is just the latest in a series of similar robberies this year — two people were killed in a similar incident at the end of May.
JUDGE HAS GAMBLING PROBLEM, LAWYER SAYS
KANSAS CITY (AP) – A Kansas City municipal judge being investigated for accepting loans from lawyers has a gambling addiction, her attorney has confirmed.
Judge Deborah Neal, 54, has been on paid leave since Aug. 16; she remains hospitalized for treatment of depression. She was among the patrons in a Kansas City, Kan., casino that was raided by authorities in April.
Neal’s lawyer, John Kurtz, will not say how long the gambling problem has existed, though Neal filed for bankruptcy four years ago.
He also declined to say how many lawyers loaned the judge money and whether any of them practiced in her courtroom.
Ethics rules forbid judges from accepting loans from lawyers who appear before them.
The judge, who joined the municipal court in 1996, has said none of her rulings was influenced by lawyers who loaned her money.
Regardless, legal experts say lawyers who loaned Neal money could be disciplined by the Missouri State Bar Association. If they received preferential treatment, it could be a federal crime.
Neal, who makes $123,744 a year, filed for bankruptcy four years ago with debts that included $48,000 in federal income taxes.
For the last two years, according to court records, about $1,730 has been deducted from her paycheck every two weeks as part of debt payments.
The Missouri Commission on Retirement, Removal and Discipline of Judges is involved in Neal’s case. It can reprimand her or ask the Missouri Supreme Court to discipline her, including removal from the bench.
Retired Judge Charles DeFeo has been named to replace Neal, at least through Oct. 8.
JACK WHITTAKER WINNER OF THE BIGGEST LOTTERY JACKPOT BURGLARIZED
Three men burglarized the home of Jack Whittaker, winner of the biggest lottery jackpot in U.S. history, as an acquaintance of Whittaker’s lay dead inside, police said Tuesday.
Whittaker was not home at the time, and Chief Deputy John Dailey said the death of Jesse Joe Tribble, 18, was not related to the burglary and was not a homicide. It may have been drug-related, Dailey said.
“We’re pretty sure they knew he was dead. That’s why they went inside and took the stuff,” Dailey said.
The break-in took place Thursday night or Friday morning. One of those arrested reported Tribble’s death late Friday morning, Dailey said. Tribble was a friend of Whittaker’s granddaughter, and all three suspects were acquainted with Tribble.
Dailey would not say how the three knew about Tribble’s death.
J.C. Shaver, 20, James Travis Willis, 25, and Jeffrey Dustin Campbell, 20, were charged with larceny and other offenses after being captured on a security camera that Whittaker recently had installed, authorities said.
Police recovered $15,000 worth of items taken from the home, Daily said. He did not give a total for everything stolen.
Whittaker won the largest single jackpot in the nation’s history when he hit a $314.9 million Powerball jackpot on Christmas Day 2002. He chose to accept a lump sum of about $113 million after taxes.
Since then, Whittaker’s vehicle, business and home have been broken into repeatedly. Last year, a strip club manager and his girlfriend were charged with drugging Whittaker and stealing a briefcase containing more than $500,000 in cash and cashier’s checks. The money was recovered.
