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StumbleSentencing delayed for slot machine cheats in Black Book
Thursday, Jan. 7, 2010 | 9:19 a.m.
Michael McNeive
William Cushing
Sun Archives
- Black Book, Vegas’ bad guys aren’t what they used to be (10-11-2009)
- Casino scammers in Black Book plead guilty to cheating slots (9-29-2009)
- Who's on the list (7-4-1999)
- Reputed mobster nominate for Black Book (9-13-1996)
- Nevada Probes Spilotro For Gaming "Blackbook" (6-26-1978)
Sentencing has been postponed for two casino cheats listed in Nevada's Black Book and a woman who was their accomplice in a 2006 slot machine-cheating scheme used at several Las Vegas-area casinos.
In September, William Cushing and Michael McNeive pleaded guilty to the use of a cheating device in a slot machine, a felony, and Susan Lewanda pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit theft, a gross misdemeanor. The trio used the scam at several casinos, including Boulder Station, Texas Station and Fiesta Rancho, in 2006.
A pre-sentencing report from the department of parole and probation wasn’t ready this week, and the hearing was reset for April 15 in front of Judge Douglas Herndon.
According to the plea agreement on file with the court, McNeive and Cushing could be sentenced to one to six years in prison, or probation; additionally, a fine of up to $10,000 can be imposed in addition to any possible restitution owed.
Lewanda could be sentenced to up to one year in the Clark County Detention Center and could be fined up to $2,000. She also could be required to pay restitution.
Sentencing is up to the discretion of the judge.
Police reports indicate surveillance videos show Cushing and Lewanda would stand watch at slot machines while McNeive inserted $1 bills and forged them as $100 bills using the cheating device.
Cushing and McNeive are in Nevada's List of Excluded Persons, also known as the Black Book, and are barred from the state's casinos.
According to Gaming Control Board records, Cushing, 57, was first arrested in 1984 and has been arrested numerous times for gaming crimes in Nevada and other states. McNeive, 68, was first arrested by the Nevada Gaming Control Board in 1996 and also has been arrested for gaming-related crimes numerous times, including cheating slot machines.
McNeive, who was added to the Black Book in August 2009, was convicted of trying to cheat a slot machine at a Rite Aid drugstore in 2003. He is the 36th person entered into the list.
The Black Book was created in 1960 to battle organized crime in Nevada casinos. People can only be removed from the list if they die or if the commission determines that they shouldn’t have been listed.
Anyone on the list who enters a casino or any casino that knowingly allows an excluded person to enter can face gross misdemeanor charges.
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Gee I wondor what the sentence would be if this was in the Macau Casinos. My guess their family would of recevied the bill for the cost of the bullet.
How could these fools think that they were gonna get away with that scam ? Don't they know they are on camera? LMAO !
I would think that these cheats would have been in that black book years ago... I guess it takes awhile for them to recognize you on camera....
PeterGun since they are your heroes, then get out and do some crime yourself and show those casinos that your the man!! Casinos don't rip off naive people, naive people let themselves get ripped off, big difference.
Screw the douchebags and people who have no self control. Seems like your one of those people PeterEater!