Sports bookie jailed on probation violation

Staff report

STRUTHERS

A convicted sports bookie is back in jail on an impaired-driving-related charge.

Kevin S. Almasy, 50, of Wolosyn Circle, Poland, was arrested June 3 by Struthers police for driving while his license was suspended on a charge of operating a vehicle while intoxicated, according to municipal court records.

It was also a violation of his probation for a previous OVI conviction in 2018.

He pleaded not guilty Friday during his arraignment in Struthers Municipal Court, according to court records. Records also show Almasy ran from the court during his arraignment.

John Zomoida, city law director, said Almasy “bolted for the door” once Judge Dominic R. Leone III ordered the man to submit to a urine test.

Almasy was apprehended by a Mahoning County deputy sheriff and brought back before the court, then charged with an additional count of obstructing official business.

Almasy is currently in the county jail on a total $252,500 bond or 10 percent cash or surety, jail records show.

The FBI in 2001 began investigating Almasy and several others who operated what a tipster called a “major gambling racket in the Struthers-Boardman area” out of LaVilla Sports Bar and Grille along Youngstown-Poland Road.

A federal judge sentenced Almasy to 15 months in prison in 2005. Federal court records show Almasy violated his supervised release by “excessive consumption of alcohol” before he was set to report to prison.