More criminals to be excluded from casinos

ST. LOUIS -- At the moment, only eight people -- three of them dead -- are on the state's little-used list of cheaters and organized crime figures blacklisted from Missouri casinos.

But that's about to change.

The Missouri Gaming Commission is expanding the list to include a broader group of criminals, and just last month voted to add two convicted carpet installers.

The two gambled away thousands of dollars and never installed carpeting for their customers. Both were convicted in DeKalb County of felony stealing by deceit. They have until Jan. 8 to appeal the decision.

Gene McNary, the gaming commission's executive director, said he wants to work with the state's Division of Probation and Parole to flag other criminal cases where gambling was a contributing factor.

"If a judge puts somebody on probation and there is some link to gambling, then we will look at that and consider putting them on the exclusion list," McNary told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Not everyone agrees with the new approach.

The list traditionally has been reserved for "an elite group of high-profile criminals" with gambling convictions, said Troy Stremming, vice president of government affairs for Ameristar Casinos Inc.

Broadening the list would put the state on a "slippery slope," he said. Sometimes, people say they stole money to gamble when they spent the money on many things, including movies, sporting events and "condos in Bermuda," said Stremming, president of the Missouri Gaming Association, an industry trade group.

Missouri began its exclusion list in 1994, when riverboat casinos opened. First to be banned were John Ross Termini and William D. Cammisano Jr., both of Kansas City. They had been convicted of illegal gambling and obstruction of justice, respectively.

Commissioners soon added Kansas Citians Frank Joseph DeLuna, Jackie Dale Norris, Peter Joseph Simone and Anthony Thomas Civella. Conspiracy, money laundering and illegal gambling were among their crimes.

Matthew Trupiano, a reputed leader of the St. Louis mob, is the only St. Louisan ever to make the list. He was convicted in 1993 of running an illegal gambling business in connection with an illegal gin rummy game. He died in 1997.

Last year, regulators banned Carl A. DeLuna of Kansas City, who had served time on federal racketeering charges.

Then last month the commission added carpet layers Rick Hamilton, 48, and Linda Hamilton, 46, of Cameron.

Attorney General Jay Nixon's office prosecuted the consumer fraud case and came up with the idea of placing the Hamiltons on the list.

Records showed that the couple gambled more than $55,000 over a five-year period, Nixon's office said. Meanwhile, the Hamiltons defrauded 10 customers of more than $36,000, according to court records.

Those on the list who are caught at casinos can be charged with trespassing, a Class B misdemeanor. The gaming commission may seek legislation to strengthen that penalty, said David Welch, the commission's general counsel.

The Hamiltons' attorney, Drew Davis of Cameron, said putting his clients on the list was "completely unnecessary."

Until their convictions, the couple "had never been in trouble a day in their lives," Davis said.

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Information from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, www.stltoday.com