A former slot machine technician a Casino in Tucson, Arizona, was recently arrested and charged with stealing as much as $269,000 from an Indian gaming complex. According to the federal indictment, the 32-year-old former Indian casino employee opened various slot machines under the pre-tense of performing routine maintenance work, and printed "winning" tickets and had other people cash them for him.
Government officials were reported as saying that the thefts occurred over a three-and-a-half year time period, starting in November 2001. The investigation on the case first started after another casino employee noticed the "suspicious" slots tickets and made management aware. According to federal law, if convicted the ex-employee could spend up to 20 years in a federal prison and get a fine for up to 1 million dollars for theft from a tribal gambling establishment and will be banned from ever working or playing at another casino in the United States for life.
Five agencies took part in the investigation, including the FBI, the Pascua Yaqui Tribal Gaming Office, the Arizona Department of Gaming, the tribe's Attorney General's office and the Pascua Yaqui Police Department.