Man gets prison in gambling case

Snyder took bets in Stark County but kept records in his Smith Township home.
By DEBORA SHAULIS
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- A Mahoning County Common Pleas Court judge says probation wasn't warranted for a Smith Township man convicted of gambling offenses here and in Stark County.
Judge R. Scott Krichbaum sentenced Harry Snyder Jr., 51, of Courtney Road, Alliance, to six months in prison Tuesday. Snyder pleaded guilty Feb. 7 to one count of operating a gambling house, a fifth-degree felony.
Snyder was a bookie whom law enforcement officials said was involved in an extensive college and professional football gambling network that operated in three counties and for more than two decades. The group included former Salem schools Superintendent Randy Engle.
Snyder took bets in Stark County, but he stored his computer, betting sheets and related documentation in his Smith Township home in Mahoning County, said Martin P. Desmond, an assistant county prosecutor.
Snyder has been sentenced in Stark County Common Pleas Court to an 11-month prison term, defense lawyer Paul Adamson said. Snyder pleaded guilty Dec. 30 to engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity and gambling, also stemming from the same investigation.
Snyder can ask for judicial release after 45 days, which will be granted for satisfactory behavior, Adamson said.
How judge saw it
Desmond recommended probation for Snyder because he cooperated with Alliance police during their investigation of the gambling operation, he said. One of two Alliance police officers in court Tuesday concurred with Desmond.
Judge Krichbaum said Snyder's sentence in Stark County shouldn't excuse him from being punished for crimes committed in Mahoning County.
Since Snyder has prior convictions for driving under the influence and a minor misdemeanor charge of gambling, Judge Krichbaum didn't agree with Adamson's belief that Snyder will change his ways.
Though Snyder's crime was nonviolent in nature, it represents "a certain demise, a certain surrender of the values and morals of our society," Judge Krichbaum said.
Snyder's wife, Lorraine M. Snyder, 45, was found guilty after pleading no contest to a minor misdemeanor charge of public gaming last March. She was fined $150 plus court costs, according to Stark County Common Pleas Court records.
Engle, 59, of Ridge Road, Salem, was charged in December 2004 with 19 counts of gambling, which are first-degree misdemeanors. His case was bound over to a grand jury in Stark County but later was returned to Alliance Municipal Court. Engle received suspended jail sentences and fines and was charged court costs in March 2005.
Also charged was Stephen Ackerman, 62, of Norman Avenue, Smith Township. Ackerman pleaded guilty last June to two counts of money laundering and one count of gambling. He was sentenced by a Stark County Common Pleas Court judge to 30 days in Summit County Jail and was placed on two years' probation.
shaulis@vindy.com