Former supt. pleads to gambling

LISBON -- Randy Engle, 59, of Salem, the former Salem schools superintendent, pleaded guilty late today( to a charge of gambling.
As part of the plea agreement, Engle will forfeit $100,000, which was the profit he made on the bookmaking operation from 2002 through 2004.
Columbiana County Prosecutor Robert Herron said Engle was the mastermind behind the operation who made the parlay slips and collected money.
"He drove a route two days a week," Herron said.
Herron's office will now approach fewer than 10 people who helped collect money for the bets, the prosecutor said. He expects they'll be charged only with misdemeanors, he said. He added that he will not try to prosecute those who placed the bets.
Herron said the investigation will continue because Engle was laying off some of the bets through another betting operation.
Engle's plea follows a large gambling raid in 2004 in Stark and Mahoning counties. He was found guilty of misdemeanor charges as a result of that probe.
The investigation since then has indicated betting occurred in Mahoning, Stark and Portage counties, Herron said.
Herron noted Engle had retired from the Salem School System in the late 1990s, and the felony charge should have no impact on his education credentials.