Police Conduct Gambling Raid at Kansas Pool Hall

The raid of the business yielded cards, poker chips, blackjack tables, poker tables, and cash, none of which is illegal to own, and most of which may be purchased at malls across the country.

A Topeka, Kansas, pool hall was raided and the owner arrested on charges of illegal gambling this week. Frank Thomas Antonelli, 60, was booked with four charges of commercial gambling.

Shawnee County District Attorney Robert Hecht said his office was currently preparing a civil case designed to close the pool hall. Hecht issued a news release stating he wanted to tell residents of the area that they will "no longer be subjected to the continuing criminal activity that has occurred at Deep Pockets in the nature of homicides, shootings and other kinds of violence that seem to have their genesis in premises where other illegal activities are ongoing."

No evidence was presented that the Deep Pockets Pool Hall was the cause of neighborhood crime, or had exacerbated existing problems.

The raid of the business yielded cards, poker chips, blackjack tables, poker tables, and cash, none of which is illegal to own, and most of which may be purchased at malls across the country.

How many Topeka citizens have cards or poker chips at their homes? Should those individuals be concerned that authorities might conduct a raid on their houses to prevent the spread of homicides and violent crime?

Attacking minor gambling operations continues to be a way to generate headlines for law enforcement, without confronting the real headache of violence and thievery.