MONROE - The owner of Old Smokey's Bar surrendered himself to Monroe Police late Tuesday, April 3, on eight Class I felony gambling charges filed the same day in Green County Circuit Court.
Jeffrey J. Conway, 52, Monroe, was transported at about 4 p.m. to the Green County Jail, according to Police Chief Fred Kelley. He is scheduled to make his initial appearance before Judge James Beer at 3 p.m. today, April 4.
The charges against Conway are the result of a long-term investigation into commercial gambling in the area by Monroe Police with the Wisconsin Department of Justice (DOJ), Division of Criminal Investigation, and the Wisconsin Attorney General's Office.
Conway is the second person to be arrested as a result of the investigation.
Another Monroe man, Werner J. Rast, was arrested in December on felony gambling charges involving Conway and his bar, located at 1301 17th St. Initially Rast faced six counts, but the court filed four more counts against him in February after hearing testimony against him.
Two men testified in court in January that they bet thousands of dollars on sports games in a gambling operation run by Rast, 50, and used Old Smokey's as the pick-up and drop-off location for money owed and won. They said they periodically exchanged cash winnings or money owed in an envelope with any bartender on shift, or mailed a cashier's check to the bar.
One witness also said he picked up Rast's parlay cards - a sheet that lists the payouts players can receive based on total bets - at the bar and shared them with friends.
Rast pleaded not guilty to all 10 counts against him. His jury trial is scheduled for August.
The charges against Conway stem from alleged offenses in 2006 and 2007, according to online court records. He faces four counts of receiving commercial gambling bets and four counts of setting up a commercial gambling machine or wire, all as party to a crime.
Monroe Police notified Conway by phone Tuesday of the warrant issued for his arrest, Kelley said, and Conway complied soon after by turning himself in at the police department.
If convicted and sentenced to the full extent of the law, Conway could be fined $80,000 and imprisoned 28 years.
Jeffrey J. Conway, 52, Monroe, was transported at about 4 p.m. to the Green County Jail, according to Police Chief Fred Kelley. He is scheduled to make his initial appearance before Judge James Beer at 3 p.m. today, April 4.
The charges against Conway are the result of a long-term investigation into commercial gambling in the area by Monroe Police with the Wisconsin Department of Justice (DOJ), Division of Criminal Investigation, and the Wisconsin Attorney General's Office.
Conway is the second person to be arrested as a result of the investigation.
Another Monroe man, Werner J. Rast, was arrested in December on felony gambling charges involving Conway and his bar, located at 1301 17th St. Initially Rast faced six counts, but the court filed four more counts against him in February after hearing testimony against him.
Two men testified in court in January that they bet thousands of dollars on sports games in a gambling operation run by Rast, 50, and used Old Smokey's as the pick-up and drop-off location for money owed and won. They said they periodically exchanged cash winnings or money owed in an envelope with any bartender on shift, or mailed a cashier's check to the bar.
One witness also said he picked up Rast's parlay cards - a sheet that lists the payouts players can receive based on total bets - at the bar and shared them with friends.
Rast pleaded not guilty to all 10 counts against him. His jury trial is scheduled for August.
The charges against Conway stem from alleged offenses in 2006 and 2007, according to online court records. He faces four counts of receiving commercial gambling bets and four counts of setting up a commercial gambling machine or wire, all as party to a crime.
Monroe Police notified Conway by phone Tuesday of the warrant issued for his arrest, Kelley said, and Conway complied soon after by turning himself in at the police department.
If convicted and sentenced to the full extent of the law, Conway could be fined $80,000 and imprisoned 28 years.