Two Georgia Men Charged In Atlantic City Casino Heists

Sometimes it is better to let the movies deal with all the drama that comes along with robbing casinos. Two Georgia men will now learn the hard way that robbing Atlantic City casinos is not as easy as it looks on the big screen.

Richard Newman of Lawrenceville, Georgia, and Gustavo Acuna of Gainesville, Georgia, were both arrested and are being held on $150,000 bail each after police caught the men. They are accused of pulling off a heist at three separate AC casinos.

The first of the casinos that was hit was the Showboat Casino Hotel. One of the men pried the glass security device open, and took gambling chips from inside the case. The casino's security cameras caught it on surveillance tape.

After that heist, the two men moved along to Caesar's. They struck twice at Caesar's, both times at empty tables. The men took off with $53,550 in chips, bringing their total chip count to over $70,000.

"It was all done very easily," said Detective Arthur Ferrari, as reported on Philly.com, "The two suspects grabbed the $100 and $500 gaming chips. Anything bigger than that would draw attention if they tried to cash them in."

Instead of cashing them in, the two men were caught in a 1985 Chrysler Fifth Avenue. The police determined that was the getaway car by working with Georgia authorities using fingerprints left at the scene. Newman and Acuna were charged with unlawful taking, possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, possession of a weapon, and money laundering.

September 16, 2009
Posted By Terry Goodwin
Staff Editor, CasinoGamblingWeb.com
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