MONROE - For 10 felony convictions of gambling, Werner J. Rast was sentenced Thursday, Oct. 4 to 18 months of probation and a $10,000 fine - which is just half the amount he admitted netting annually in "juice" from a Monroe gambling ring he ran for years.
More than 30 people turned out to Rast's sentencing in front of Judge James Beer.
Many came forward to speak in support of the 51-year-old Monroe native and to express disdain for state gambling laws that allow casinos to operate but prosecute what they described as harmless sports betting by a group of local guys who'd grown up together.
Even the judge pointed to inconsistencies in gambling law.
"I see people down at the gas station buying 20 to 30 lottery tickets," Beer said, adding that he knows they can't afford it.
In another perceived inconsistency, Beer referenced the state law that allows only Native American tribes to run a casino.
"If you're Swiss, you don't have that opportunity," Beer said. (Rast is of Swiss heritage.)
Rast has friends in high places, if the turnout of local business and community leaders is any indication.
Gregory Knoke spoke in support of Rast to the court as a citizen and not in his capacity as a local attorney. He presented a petition of support signed by a couple hundred locals, including Green County tourism director Noreen Rueckert, county board member Patrick Davis, chiropractor Erik Onsrud, Klondike Cheese Company's Adam Buholzer and Chris Soukup, co-owner of Baumgartner's.
The people who placed bets with Rast "are all local people, knew each other, grew up together. ... We don't have someone from Freeport or Dubuque supplying the juice," Knoke said, using the term for the commission bookkeepers take on bets. In Rast's case, it was 10 percent.
Knoke also cited two Monroe gambling cases in which the defendants - James P. Wuetrich in 1980 and Frederick J. Amacher in 1981 - were not charged as severely as Rast.
"You need to look at this type of activity in Monroe, and be consistent," Knoke said.
Chuckling, Beer remarked that he had been the defendant's attorney in one of the cases from the early 1980s. The assembled crowd laughed.
Scott Thompson, another local attorney and owner of Big Radio, read a letter from fellow attorney Chuck Wellington praising "Werner's honor and integrity," love for his mother and "meticulous" property management.
Thompson maintained that Rast never coerced gamblers. When some people made excessive bets, "they were told not to bet anymore."
Realtor Marshall "Bub" Zwygart said he didn't understand how "the attorney general could make such a big deal over friends gambling."
Heroin, not gambling, is the problem around here, he added: "Why don't we chase the big problems? I think it's an injustice."
William "Skip" Brennan, of Brennan's Market, also testified to Rast's good character.
Brennan echoed a sentiment shared by many of those in the courtroom. Rast has suffered "ample punishment" already, he said, by enduring public scrutiny and "waiting five years for this thing to come down."
The investigation into Rast began Nov. 11, 2007, when Monroe police responded to his home for a domestic abuse report involving his then-wife. Later, with a search warrant, police seized evidence of a gambling operation, including ledgers, a computer, spreadsheets and financial documents.
Investigators eventually linked Rast and Jeffrey "Twitty" Conway, 53, Monroe, as ringleaders in the gambling operation, which allegedly involved taking thousands of dollars in wagers on college basketball and pro football games from dozens of people, often under nicknames like "Yogi" or "Thunder," at a fee of 10 percent on all lost bets.
A criminal complaint was filed against Rast late last year, and against Conway this past April. Rast pleaded no contest to the charges in August. Conway pleaded not guilty in May, and has a jury trial scheduled for early December.
In his final argument before the sentencing, Assistant Attorney General Richard Dufour dismissed allegations from Rast's supporters that the state was trying to make Rast a "poster child." Anyone who takes issue with Wisconsin's gambling laws needs to complain to the legislature, not law enforcers, he added.
Rast made repeated decisions to violate the law, taking in millions of dollars in bets over several years, and when he was caught, "he tried to cover it up," Dufour said. "Obviously the defendant seems to think he's above the law."
Dufour recommended an imposed and stayed prison sentence, five years of probation, six to nine months in jail and a fine "in the $30,000 to $50,000 range."
Defense attorney Hal Harlowe blew off the state's recommendation as absurd and inconsistent.
"Imposed and stayed prison sentence? Good lord," he said.
Calling Rast "the most seriously charged person in the history of the state" for gambling, he railed against the "somewhat terrifying" force of the law to prosecute a gambling case that didn't even involve "Chicago or Milwaukee mob-style" collection techniques.
As a former district attorney for Dane County, Harlowe said when he was in office he "would've been embarrassed by this use of resources" to prosecute gambling.
Harlowe spoke passionately and at length in Rast's defense.
"Does he have flaws? All sorts," he said. But, he added, Rast deserves praise for taking responsibility for the charges and paying about $61,000 in taxes and penalties on his gambling earnings. Now he's ready to move on and go to Costa Rica.
"Werner does hope to leave the country, and I think he intends to leave on a pretty permanent basis," Harlowe said.
When given a chance to speak, Rast thanked his family and friends and said he looked forward "after five years to putting this to rest."
Beer's sentence of 18 months probation falls six months short of the Department of Correction's recommendation of two years. As conditions of his probation, Rast is ordered to pay the remainder of his fine and court fees, a total of $12,908, and not to drink or gamble. He must also find and maintain a job and undergo all recommended counseling.
More than 30 people turned out to Rast's sentencing in front of Judge James Beer.
Many came forward to speak in support of the 51-year-old Monroe native and to express disdain for state gambling laws that allow casinos to operate but prosecute what they described as harmless sports betting by a group of local guys who'd grown up together.
Even the judge pointed to inconsistencies in gambling law.
"I see people down at the gas station buying 20 to 30 lottery tickets," Beer said, adding that he knows they can't afford it.
In another perceived inconsistency, Beer referenced the state law that allows only Native American tribes to run a casino.
"If you're Swiss, you don't have that opportunity," Beer said. (Rast is of Swiss heritage.)
Rast has friends in high places, if the turnout of local business and community leaders is any indication.
Gregory Knoke spoke in support of Rast to the court as a citizen and not in his capacity as a local attorney. He presented a petition of support signed by a couple hundred locals, including Green County tourism director Noreen Rueckert, county board member Patrick Davis, chiropractor Erik Onsrud, Klondike Cheese Company's Adam Buholzer and Chris Soukup, co-owner of Baumgartner's.
The people who placed bets with Rast "are all local people, knew each other, grew up together. ... We don't have someone from Freeport or Dubuque supplying the juice," Knoke said, using the term for the commission bookkeepers take on bets. In Rast's case, it was 10 percent.
Knoke also cited two Monroe gambling cases in which the defendants - James P. Wuetrich in 1980 and Frederick J. Amacher in 1981 - were not charged as severely as Rast.
"You need to look at this type of activity in Monroe, and be consistent," Knoke said.
Chuckling, Beer remarked that he had been the defendant's attorney in one of the cases from the early 1980s. The assembled crowd laughed.
Scott Thompson, another local attorney and owner of Big Radio, read a letter from fellow attorney Chuck Wellington praising "Werner's honor and integrity," love for his mother and "meticulous" property management.
Thompson maintained that Rast never coerced gamblers. When some people made excessive bets, "they were told not to bet anymore."
Realtor Marshall "Bub" Zwygart said he didn't understand how "the attorney general could make such a big deal over friends gambling."
Heroin, not gambling, is the problem around here, he added: "Why don't we chase the big problems? I think it's an injustice."
William "Skip" Brennan, of Brennan's Market, also testified to Rast's good character.
Brennan echoed a sentiment shared by many of those in the courtroom. Rast has suffered "ample punishment" already, he said, by enduring public scrutiny and "waiting five years for this thing to come down."
The investigation into Rast began Nov. 11, 2007, when Monroe police responded to his home for a domestic abuse report involving his then-wife. Later, with a search warrant, police seized evidence of a gambling operation, including ledgers, a computer, spreadsheets and financial documents.
Investigators eventually linked Rast and Jeffrey "Twitty" Conway, 53, Monroe, as ringleaders in the gambling operation, which allegedly involved taking thousands of dollars in wagers on college basketball and pro football games from dozens of people, often under nicknames like "Yogi" or "Thunder," at a fee of 10 percent on all lost bets.
A criminal complaint was filed against Rast late last year, and against Conway this past April. Rast pleaded no contest to the charges in August. Conway pleaded not guilty in May, and has a jury trial scheduled for early December.
In his final argument before the sentencing, Assistant Attorney General Richard Dufour dismissed allegations from Rast's supporters that the state was trying to make Rast a "poster child." Anyone who takes issue with Wisconsin's gambling laws needs to complain to the legislature, not law enforcers, he added.
Rast made repeated decisions to violate the law, taking in millions of dollars in bets over several years, and when he was caught, "he tried to cover it up," Dufour said. "Obviously the defendant seems to think he's above the law."
Dufour recommended an imposed and stayed prison sentence, five years of probation, six to nine months in jail and a fine "in the $30,000 to $50,000 range."
Defense attorney Hal Harlowe blew off the state's recommendation as absurd and inconsistent.
"Imposed and stayed prison sentence? Good lord," he said.
Calling Rast "the most seriously charged person in the history of the state" for gambling, he railed against the "somewhat terrifying" force of the law to prosecute a gambling case that didn't even involve "Chicago or Milwaukee mob-style" collection techniques.
As a former district attorney for Dane County, Harlowe said when he was in office he "would've been embarrassed by this use of resources" to prosecute gambling.
Harlowe spoke passionately and at length in Rast's defense.
"Does he have flaws? All sorts," he said. But, he added, Rast deserves praise for taking responsibility for the charges and paying about $61,000 in taxes and penalties on his gambling earnings. Now he's ready to move on and go to Costa Rica.
"Werner does hope to leave the country, and I think he intends to leave on a pretty permanent basis," Harlowe said.
When given a chance to speak, Rast thanked his family and friends and said he looked forward "after five years to putting this to rest."
Beer's sentence of 18 months probation falls six months short of the Department of Correction's recommendation of two years. As conditions of his probation, Rast is ordered to pay the remainder of his fine and court fees, a total of $12,908, and not to drink or gamble. He must also find and maintain a job and undergo all recommended counseling.