South Carolina Prosecutor Among Detainees in Poker Raid
How ridiculous must a law be to be violated on a regular basis by those job it is to enforce that very law? This question came up during the revelation of Eliot Spitzer's infamous assignation with a prostitute; and it arises again, with the arrest of a South Carolina prosecutor in a raid on a poker game.
Don Sorenson, assistant prosecutor for Calhoun, Dorchester, and Orangeburg counties, was among 27 individuals arrested after police raided a poker game at a private South Carolina house. Sorenson was charged with illegal gaming and betting.
Sorenson offered his resignation, but chief prosecutor David Pascoe suspended his assistant instead while he takes time to review the case.
Major John Clark of the Charleston County Sheriff's Office said the operation was a result of ten month's investigation. Some $40,000 was seized.
Clark defended the raid, saying the poker game had paid dealers and was highly organized, not just a friendly game in someone's basement. However, Dawn Reyes, who along with husband Martin owns the house in which the games were conducted, said her husband only started hosting games eight months ago, and that he took no rake or payment for hosting.
She asserted the state needs to change antiquated laws, noting that the games were conducted "in the privacy of your own home."
A bill was introduced in the state legislature last year to legalize poker games in which the house does not take a cut, but it is languishing in committee.
In the meantime, South Carolina gets to invest ten months of man-hours and investigative costs, plus upcoming court and prosecutorial expenses, in order to be sure that no one is playing cards. Even the prosecutor, by levying only a suspension, shows how mild an offense this is. Cannot more important tasks be found?
