GAMBLING Charges against 2 go to grand jury

Both suspects are currently free on bond.
ALLIANCE -- Gambling charges against former Salem schools Superintendent Randy Engle will be heard by a grand jury in Stark County, Alliance Municipal Judge Robert Lavery said.
After separate preliminary hearings Thursday, Judge Lavery bound the cases of Engle and Kimberly McIlvain of East Oregon Street, Sebring, over to the grand jury in Canton for consideration. Both are currently free on bond.
Authorities say Engle and two other men ran extensive sports gambling operations that spanned three counties and more than two decades.
Police arrested Engle, 58, on Friday and seized records from his Ridge Road home in Salem. Stark County officials charged him with engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity and 19 counts of gambling.
Columbiana County Prosecutor Robert Herron said his investigation into Engle's alleged activities opened before the football season last year. Surveillance showed Engle taking bets and collecting money in Columbiana, Mahoning and Stark counties, Herron said. When he contacted authorities in Stark County, he discovered the Alliance Police Department also was investigating Engle.
Corrupt activities
Alliance Detective Lt. James Hilles said McIlvain, one of Engle's alleged runners, someone who collected bets or money for Engle, was charged with engaging in a pattern of corrupt activities and nine counts of gambling. She worked as a bartender at the William Penn Club in Alliance.
Herron described a sophisticated gambling operation, mostly on college and professional football games, that ranged from small wagers to high stakes.
Police also arrested two Mahoning County residents suspected of operating as bookies in the Alliance area:
*Stephen Ackerman, 61, of Norman Avenue, Smith Township, four counts of gambling and one count of operating a gambling house. He was arrested after leaving a bar where it is alleged he took bets.
*Harry Snyder Jr., 50, of Courtney Road, Smith Township, operating a gambling house and four counts of felony gambling based on warrants issued in Mahoning County. A preliminary hearing for Snyder and his wife, Lorraine, who also faces felony gambling charges, is set for 11:30 a.m. Tuesday in Alliance Municipal Court.