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West Pittston woman is charged with stealing bingo proceeds from fire company.
WILKES-BARRE – A woman charged along with her mother with stealing more than $700,000 in bingo proceeds from a volunteer Swoyersville fire company three years ago has been scheduled to stand trial on related charges.
Carol Gamble, 50, of West Pittston, appeared in Luzerne County Court Friday where Judge Lesa Gelb scheduled her to stand trial on six related charges on May 7.
Gamble’s mother, Catherine Drago, 80, is scheduled to appear in court for a pre-trial hearing on Feb. 16.
State police at Wyoming say the women used their positions as officers with the Swoyersville Volunteer Hose Co. No. 1 to pilfer money collected through bingo games the department held during a three-year period.
Attorneys said Friday Gamble’s trial is expected to last four days. The trial had been delayed when defense attorneys said they needed more time to review “numerous and significant” financial documents relating to the case.
Gelb also scheduled a pretrial hearing for March 30 for Gamble, who is represented by attorney William Ruzzo.
According to court papers, Drago, the fire company’s treasurer, and Gamble, the company’s president, took control in 2001 of collecting and depositing money generated at bingo games held as a fundraiser for the department.
The state Bureau of Charitable Organizations began an investigation in 2005 after Drago submitted incomplete information as part of a routine survey the bureau conducts to determine if a charitable organization must register with the state.
A bureau official became suspicious because the amount of revenue Drago reported the bingo generated was less than the bureau thought it should be.
A detailed audit then was conducted, which determined the hose company generated a total of $1,789,529 from Jan. 1, 2004, to Nov. 14, 2007. Of that amount, $1,054,781 was deposited into the department’s bank account, leaving $734,748 unaccounted for.
Search warrants revealed Drago and Gamble issued checks totaling $416,077 to themselves dating from January 2004 to September 2006, according to court papers.
Police did not say how the women allegedly spent the money or how much each is alleged to have taken.
In September 2008, investigators seized a total of nine financial records of the two women. The search warrants sought financial and bank records, while a 10th filed in August permitted authorities to obtain Drago’s gambling wagers at seven Atlantic City, N.J., casinos. Casino courtesy cards were found in Drago’s residence, the search warrant affidavits say.
Drago and Gamble were initially charged in December 2008.