Current:Home > InvestFormer Indiana lawmaker accused of pushing casino bill in exchange for a job gets a year in prison -Edge Finance Strategies
Former Indiana lawmaker accused of pushing casino bill in exchange for a job gets a year in prison
View
Date:2025-04-11 17:48:40
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — A federal judge on Wednesday sentenced a former Indiana lawmaker accused of pushing a bill favoring a casino company in exchange for promises of employment to a year and a day in prison.
Former state Rep. Sean Eberhart pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit fraud in November and agreed to pay $60,000 in restitution, roughly equal to his annual pay as a legislator. He faced a maximum sentence of five years in prison but prosecutors recommended leniency as part of the plea deal, the Indianapolis Star reported.
Eberhart’s attorney, Pat Cotter, declined to comment on the sentencing when reached by The Associated Press via email.
Eberhart, a Republican, represented central Indiana’s House District 57 for 16 years before he left office in November 2022.
According to court documents, a company called Spectacle Entertainment was looking to purchase two casinos located on Lake Michigan in Gary, Indiana, in 2018. The company wanted to relocate the facilities to downtown Gary and to Vigo County in western Indiana. The Legislature passed a bill approving the move in 2019.
Eberhart sat on the House Committee on Public Policy, which oversees casinos and gambling in Indiana. Prosecutors accused him of using his position to successfully advocate for the relocation and obtain favorable terms for the company, including tax incentives, in exchange for a future job that would pay at least $350,000 annually.
The embattled casino company has been the subject of several federal investigations in recent years.
In 2022, longtime casino executive John Keeler was sentenced, along with former Indiana state Sen. Brent Waltz, for their role in a scheme to illegally funnel gambling money into the lawmaker’s unsuccessful 2016 bid for congress.
Keeler, who was a Republican legislator for 16 years in the 1980s and 1990s, was sentenced to two months in federal prison and fined $55,000. The Indiana Gaming Commission forced Spectacle officials to give up their ownership stakes in Gary and Terre Haute casino projects following Keeler and Waltz’s indictments in 2020.
Waltz, a Republican from Greenwood, was sentenced to 10 months in federal prison for helping route about $40,000 in illegal contributions to his campaign and making false statements to the FBI.
veryGood! (4)
Related
- Megan Fox's ex Brian Austin Green tells Machine Gun Kelly to 'grow up'
- Barry Williams says secret to a happy marriage is making wife 'your princess'
- Former AP videojournalist Yaniv Zohar, his wife and 2 daughters killed in Hamas attack at their home
- Chicago-area man charged with hate crimes for threatening Muslim men
- As Trump Enters Office, a Ripe Oil and Gas Target Appears: An Alabama National Forest
- Reporter wins support after Nebraska governor dismissed story because the journalist is Chinese
- Workers at Mexico’s federal courts kick off 4-day strike over president’s planned budget cuts
- Lupita Nyong’o and Boyfriend Selema Masekela Break Up After One Year of Dating
- DoorDash steps up driver ID checks after traffic safety complaints
- Climate change making it twice as likely for hurricanes to strengthen in 24 hours
Ranking
- B.A. Parker is learning the banjo
- French presidential couple attend funeral service of teacher slain in school attack
- So-called toddler milks are unregulated and unnecessary, a major pediatrician group says
- Gaza under Israeli siege: Bread lines, yellow water and nonstop explosions
- Could your smelly farts help science?
- Cheetos pretzels? A look at the cheese snack's venture into new taste category
- Trevor Lawrence injury updates: Latest on Jaguars QB's status for 'TNF' game vs. Saints
- Israeli child with autism found dead with her grandmother
Recommendation
Apple iOS 18.2: What to know about top features, including Genmoji, AI updates
Earthquake country residents set to ‘drop, cover and hold on’ in annual ShakeOut quake drill
Stranded on the Eiffel Tower, a couple decide to wed, with an AP reporter there to tell the story
Get a $68 Lululemon Tank for $29, $118 Pants for $49, $298 Puffer for $169, and More Can't-Miss Finds
Why members of two of EPA's influential science advisory committees were let go
Dutch court convicts man who projected antisemitic message on Anne Frank museum
Birds nesting in agricultural lands more vulnerable to extreme heat, study finds
'Killers of the Flower Moon' cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro headline new Scorsese movie