Lawsuit by man indicted in slot machine scam dismissed

Kim Smith

Thursday, Dec. 9, 1999 | 10:38 a.m.

A civil rights lawsuit filed against Clark County and Sheriff Jerry Keller by a man later indicted in connection with a national slot machine scam has been dismissed.

U.S. District Judge Philip Pro agreed to dismiss Michael Balsalmo's lawsuit Tuesday, citing Balsalmo's failure to respond to the county's motion for a summary judgment and his status as a fugitive from justice.

Balsalmo and six other Las Vegas residents were indicted July 21 on federal charges of interstate travel in aid of racketeering, interstate transportation of stolen property and money laundering.

According to FBI authorities, the group may have bilked casinos across the nation of more than $5 million.

The indictments came down after FBI agents searched several Las Vegas homes and found schematic drawings of cheating devices, slot machines upon which the suspects allegedly practiced and items they believed were bought with proceeds from the illegal activity, FBI officials said.

Balsalmo's co-defendants, Ramon David Pereira, 52, Lisa Jane Luxom, 30, Richard Allen Ealey, 45, Tommy Glenn Carmichael, 49, Paul Lescano, 40 and Charles Denton Clark, 38, were arrested the day after the indictment was handed down.

However, Balsalmo remains a fugitive.

According to Balsalmo's lawsuit, which was filed in March 1999, officers with the Metro Police Department violated Balsalmo's rights by conducting illegal searches, arresting him without cause and falsely imprisoning him in May 1991, September 1991 and May 1998.