by Scott Detrow
Public Radio Capitol News
(Harrisburg) -- The top Republican on the House Gaming Oversight Committee is asking federal authorities to help the state police investigate illegal video poker machine vendors.
Chester County Representative Curt Schroder says Pennsylvania officials aren’t doing enough to crack down on the industry, which he says makes millions of dollars a year off the estimated 17,000 illegal machines thought to be in operation throughout the commonwealth.
Major John Lutz, who heads the state police’s Bureau of Liquor Control Enforcement, says right now the agency conducts a few vendor investigations each year, but that federal officials are already involved.
"Virtually every vendor investigation we do involves the US Attorney’s office and the Department of Justice. And they bring the Internal Revenue Service in with them."
Schroder says taking out video poker vendors would eliminate a major justification for imposing a state-regulated video poker system in Pennsylvania bars.
The Gaming Oversight Committee has yet to hold a formal vote on that legislation, which Governor Rendell is backing.
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About PRCN's - Scott Detrow
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- Scott Detrow covers state politics for Pennsylvania's public radio stations. Detrow came to the Capitol from WITF-FM, where he covered Central Pennsylvania news and anchored local "All Things Considered" segments. Much of his reporting focused on the 2008 presidential primary and general election. He also covered the Pennsylvania National Guard, and won a national Edward R. Murrow award for reports on the 56th Stryker Brigade's preparations for a 2009 deployment to Iraq. Detrow has also covered New York City politics for WFUV-FM, earning a distinction from the New York Press Club, and won a Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award for a radio documentary on South Africa's AIDS pandemic in 2007. He graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Fordham University with degrees in political science and English.