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Ex-West Virginia Legislator Charged with Gambling and Bribery
LOGAN, WEST VIRGINIA --
Joe Ferrell, a former Delegate in the West Virginia legislature, was indicted today by a grand jury for gambling, racketeering, and bribery offenses. The former lawmaker is accused of operating video games as gambling machines and using his position to shelter the illegal gaming from legal authorities.
The indictment accuses Ferrell of having sought election mainly as a tool to protect his company, Southern Amusement, and its unlawful gambling. Ferrell had plead guilty in 1992 to campaign contribution offenses, was also linked to a federal investigation of vote-buying across West Virginia in 2006.
Ferrell declined to run for re-election after the federal probe led to newspaper coverage revealing he had missed the entire legislative session that year, but collected his full salary.
The indictment cites the cooperation of a former mayor of Logan, who has testified to accepting bribes from Ferrell. Alleged bribery of the sheriff of Logan County is included in the charges.
Further, Ferrell is alleged to have kept a West Virginia Lottery investigator on the payroll, using the regulator both to block potential probes into Ferrell gaming but also to service his video slot machines.
If convicted, Ferrell faces up to several hundred years in prison. He is charged with forty-eight different crimes.
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