Earlier this month three men were indicted for cheating at the Borgata Hotel Casino and Spa. Four men were involved but only three had been charged. On Monday the three men plead not guilty to the charges.

The men are accused of organizing a gambling scheme at the Borgata by renting a room at the hotel to host private, high stakes games of Chinese poker, chess and backgammon. The men allegedly placed surveillance equipment and computers in a room to cheat the players out of money, in the tens of thousands.

State Police were able to raid the rooms before a customer arrived and arrested the four men, seizing the equipment in the process. The men were indicted on charges of second degree attempted theft by deception.

Attorneys for Joseph Ingargiola, Stephen Phillips and Steven Forte entered not guilty pleas to the Superior Court Judge Michael Conner on Monday. One attorney stated: “the state has a complete misperception about what occurred here. At the conclusion of the case, it is my strong belief that all four defendants will be exonerated.”

It will be interesting to see what the attorneys for the defendants state is the reason behind the equipment. The prosecution seems to have a strong case against the men and strongly believe the setup was a cheating scam.


- 2008-10-29