MONROE - Jurors will be sought in the coming months for the July trial of a "notorious" local gambling case in Green County Circuit Court, after a Monroe man pleaded not guilty on Friday, Feb. 3, to 10 felony charges of taking bets on sports games.
If convicted, Werner J. Rast, 50, faces up to 35 years in prison and $100,000 in fines. He is charged on five counts of receiving commercial gambling bets and five counts of setting up a commercial gambling machine, all Class I felonies.
Witnesses testified last week to placing bets by phone and email with Rast on professional football or college basketball games in 2005, 2006 or 2007, and either sending Rast cashier's checks or exchanging cash winnings and money owed in an envelope with bartenders at Old Smokey's Bar, 1301 17th St. They said Rast charged a 10-percent fee on lost bets, so, for example, they would pay him $22 for a lost bet of $20.
A Wisconsin Department of Justice investigation found that Rast kept spreadsheets during a 10-week period in the fall of 2006 for at least 30 to 40 betters.
Finding jurors who not connected in some way with the case will be difficult, Judge James Beer acknowledged.
"I would assume this is fairly notorious," Beer said. He asked prosecuting attorney Richard Dufour and defense attorney Harold Harlowe to come up with questions for a jury questionnaire within 30 days.
The questionnaire will go out to 100 residents. From this pool, the court plans to select 40 potential jurors to come in for closer questioning. Twelve jurors and two alternates are needed to sit through the trial on July 11, 12 and 13.
"That way we could have a jury pool with very few conflicts," Beer said.
Rast was arrested Dec. 1 at his home on six felony gambling charges, following a long-term investigation by Monroe Police with the Department of Justice, Division of Criminal Investigation. The state added four more felony counts of gambling after Rast's preliminary hearing on Friday, Jan. 27.
Rast is the only person charged in the case.
If convicted, Werner J. Rast, 50, faces up to 35 years in prison and $100,000 in fines. He is charged on five counts of receiving commercial gambling bets and five counts of setting up a commercial gambling machine, all Class I felonies.
Witnesses testified last week to placing bets by phone and email with Rast on professional football or college basketball games in 2005, 2006 or 2007, and either sending Rast cashier's checks or exchanging cash winnings and money owed in an envelope with bartenders at Old Smokey's Bar, 1301 17th St. They said Rast charged a 10-percent fee on lost bets, so, for example, they would pay him $22 for a lost bet of $20.
A Wisconsin Department of Justice investigation found that Rast kept spreadsheets during a 10-week period in the fall of 2006 for at least 30 to 40 betters.
Finding jurors who not connected in some way with the case will be difficult, Judge James Beer acknowledged.
"I would assume this is fairly notorious," Beer said. He asked prosecuting attorney Richard Dufour and defense attorney Harold Harlowe to come up with questions for a jury questionnaire within 30 days.
The questionnaire will go out to 100 residents. From this pool, the court plans to select 40 potential jurors to come in for closer questioning. Twelve jurors and two alternates are needed to sit through the trial on July 11, 12 and 13.
"That way we could have a jury pool with very few conflicts," Beer said.
Rast was arrested Dec. 1 at his home on six felony gambling charges, following a long-term investigation by Monroe Police with the Department of Justice, Division of Criminal Investigation. The state added four more felony counts of gambling after Rast's preliminary hearing on Friday, Jan. 27.
Rast is the only person charged in the case.