Guards charged with stealing casino cash

Wednesday, Jan. 31, 2001 | 10:28 a.m.

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

ATLANTIC CITY -- Two security officers at Tropicana Casino and Resort have been charged with stealing $34,248 in cash from casino floor drop boxes.

Glen Longcrier, 43, of Pleasantville, and Daniel Lugo, 40, of Ventnor, took the money from drop boxes that were being taken from the gambling tables to the casino's money-counting room, according to Katherine Lyons, a spokeswoman for the state Division of Gaming Enforcement.

Drop boxes store money after it is won at the tables. The boxes are locked into trolleys and taken by security guards to the count room.

The process is conducted under surveillance by the casino's own security department, according to Lyons. A surveillance employee spotted the thefts and alerted State Police, who arrested the two before they could flee, Lyons said.

Longcrier, a security shift supervisor, and Lugo, a security officer, were charged with theft by unlawful taking and could face five years in prison if convicted.

The Division of Gaming will ask the state Casino Control Commission to suspend the pair's licenses to work in a casino, Lyons said.

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