MONROE - A couple weeks shy of a scheduled trial on charges that he helped run a gambling ring, a local bar owner instead pleaded no contest to two of the eight felony counts against him.
Jeffrey "Twitty" Conway, 53, Monroe, is now scheduled for sentencing Jan. 30 before Judge James Beer in Green County Circuit Court.
Conway pleaded no contest Wednesday morning, Nov. 14 to Class I felony charges of setting up a commercial gambling machine and receiving commercial gambling bets. He pleaded not guilty to six similar, related counts.
His attorney Stephen Hurley had no comment afterward on the cancellation of his client's jury trial.
Conway's codefendant, Werner Rast, was sentenced Oct. 4 on 10 felony convictions of commercial gambling. Beer granted him 18 months of probation and ordered him to pay a $10,000 fine.
The charges against Conway and Rast stem from a long-term investigation into commercial gambling in Monroe that led first to the arrest of Rast and then to alleged gambling activity at Conway's business, Old Smokey's Bar, 1301 17th St.
Local police began the investigation in 2007, based on evidence of gambling found in Rast's home when officers were called there for a report of domestic abuse.
The case was turned over to state investigators and eventually linked Rast and Conway as ringleaders in the gambling operation, which reportedly involved taking thousands of dollars in wagers on college basketball and pro football games from dozens of area people, often under nicknames like "Yogi" or "Thunder," at a fee of 10 percent on all lost bets.
Old Smokey's was identified as the pick-up and drop-off location for money lost and won.
Jeffrey "Twitty" Conway, 53, Monroe, is now scheduled for sentencing Jan. 30 before Judge James Beer in Green County Circuit Court.
Conway pleaded no contest Wednesday morning, Nov. 14 to Class I felony charges of setting up a commercial gambling machine and receiving commercial gambling bets. He pleaded not guilty to six similar, related counts.
His attorney Stephen Hurley had no comment afterward on the cancellation of his client's jury trial.
Conway's codefendant, Werner Rast, was sentenced Oct. 4 on 10 felony convictions of commercial gambling. Beer granted him 18 months of probation and ordered him to pay a $10,000 fine.
The charges against Conway and Rast stem from a long-term investigation into commercial gambling in Monroe that led first to the arrest of Rast and then to alleged gambling activity at Conway's business, Old Smokey's Bar, 1301 17th St.
Local police began the investigation in 2007, based on evidence of gambling found in Rast's home when officers were called there for a report of domestic abuse.
The case was turned over to state investigators and eventually linked Rast and Conway as ringleaders in the gambling operation, which reportedly involved taking thousands of dollars in wagers on college basketball and pro football games from dozens of area people, often under nicknames like "Yogi" or "Thunder," at a fee of 10 percent on all lost bets.
Old Smokey's was identified as the pick-up and drop-off location for money lost and won.