Police hit jackpot in illegal gambling bust

Fayetteville, N.C. — Dozens of people were arrested during an illegal gambling bust in Fayetteville over the weekend.

Officers received a complaint in March about a gambling house operating at 407-A Festus Ave. Friday evening, members of the Narcotics Vice Suppression Unit, the Special Projects Unit and the Emergency Response Team served a gambling search warrant at the house.

The officers charged 39 patrons, many of them Fort Bragg soldiers, with illegal gambling.

Officers say they collected playing cards, poker chips and approximately $12,000 in cash as evidence. They also seized poker tables, flat screen TVs, surveillance cameras, and gambling paraphernalia.

In addition to the gambling charges, patron John Preston Melvin, 27, was charged with trafficking opium and heroin, possession of cocaine and possession of marijuana.

Police said they also found three handguns in vehicles on the premises.

The owner of the house, Christian Patrick Lusardi, 36, was charged with gambling and illegal alcohol sales. His mother, Diana Lusardi, was charged with illegal gambling.

Officers seized between $6,000 and $7,000 from Lusardi at the Festus Avenue house and an additional $3,000 to $4,000 from his Lullwater Drive residence, they said.

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These guys don't exactly seem like the guys we need taken off the streets. The good news is the Fayetteville must not have any real crime if the cops are out looking to bust poker games.

68_polara
October 7, 2008 3:45 p.m.

Glad I wasnt there! I've played there a few times. Good clean poker fun! No drugs are being done there or at any of these poker places ive been! Thats just someone that obviously had it in their vehicle! I do not see what is wrong with this. Just some people playing cards for money. But they (Law) still have more than a dozen places like this to find in Fayetteville. And thats just businesses that turn into poker houses at night.

RICKJAMES
October 7, 2008 11:09 a.m.

We have tournements from time to time and they start off at 40 people. It would not surprise me to see three guns in the cars of the guys that we play with...they are hunters, and maybe carry for personal protection...one regular is a state trooper, I hope he has his gun!! We could possibly even have a drug dealer or two in the crowd. We have GIs...quite a few of them. We also have school teachers, and even a couple on the school board. If they busted our tourneys, and only found 12,000, I would want to know who the cheapskate was!!! This is a game in Alaska, and we would never expect to get busted. It is a friendly game held at a friends garage. We set up 4 table tourneys about once a month...it is fun. NC needs to wake up and go after some REAL CRIMINALS!!!!

yukonjohn3
October 7, 2008 10:55 a.m.

The state is ignoring the fortune they could make from licensing legalized gambling. Exact numbers are hazy, but there are more than 10,000 unregulated video gambling machines alone in this state taking in at least $180m. Controlling a piece of that could go a long way to funding education, among other things. And it's a 100% voluntary tax.