http://www.cnn.com/2004/US/Central/04/10/private.lottery.ap/index.html
Authorities halt family-run lottery
Saturday, April 10, 2004 Posted: 10:39 AM EDT (1439 GMT)
Wayne County Sheriff Warren C. Evans
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DETROIT, Michigan (AP) -- A 77-year-old woman is accused of running her own private lottery for three decades, drawing millions of dollars in business by offering higher payoffs than the state.
Authorities say they seized $2.2 million and broke up the family-run lottery that they say used the Michigan State Lottery Daily 3 and Daily 4 numbers but paid off significantly more money.
Operating from modest homes in the city and nearby Oak Park, the family business appears to have roots going back 30 years, officials said Friday.
"Numbers operations have been around for several decades before the lottery, but this is the largest we have seriously disrupted," Sheriff Warren Evans said.
The sheriff and prosecutors declined to offer further details on the operation.
Officials say Heloise Johnson, 77, was the "matriarch" of the private lottery, running it with her daughter and three adult grandchildren. Prosecutors say another man also was involved.
The defendants were named in warrants issued Thursday charging them with gambling conspiracy and taking illegal bets. They were scheduled to be arraigned Monday and, if convicted, face up to 5 years in prison and $10,000 in fines.
No one answered the phone Friday at Johnson's home.
Authorities halt family-run lottery
Saturday, April 10, 2004 Posted: 10:39 AM EDT (1439 GMT)
Wayne County Sheriff Warren C. Evans
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Story Tools
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
DETROIT, Michigan (AP) -- A 77-year-old woman is accused of running her own private lottery for three decades, drawing millions of dollars in business by offering higher payoffs than the state.
Authorities say they seized $2.2 million and broke up the family-run lottery that they say used the Michigan State Lottery Daily 3 and Daily 4 numbers but paid off significantly more money.
Operating from modest homes in the city and nearby Oak Park, the family business appears to have roots going back 30 years, officials said Friday.
"Numbers operations have been around for several decades before the lottery, but this is the largest we have seriously disrupted," Sheriff Warren Evans said.
The sheriff and prosecutors declined to offer further details on the operation.
Officials say Heloise Johnson, 77, was the "matriarch" of the private lottery, running it with her daughter and three adult grandchildren. Prosecutors say another man also was involved.
The defendants were named in warrants issued Thursday charging them with gambling conspiracy and taking illegal bets. They were scheduled to be arraigned Monday and, if convicted, face up to 5 years in prison and $10,000 in fines.
No one answered the phone Friday at Johnson's home.
