In what has got to be a first, prosecutors in Richard Taylor's casino craps cheating scam have set up a regulation craps table right smack in the courtroom, in front of the judge! This was done to give the jury an education on how craps is played, and then of course to show them how the crooked dealers and Taylor combined forces to cheat the Connecticut casino. I wonder if the judge halted the proceedings to make a bet!
Another in a string of Foxwoods dealers admitted Monday to his part in a craps cheating scam, and the state rested its case in the trial of Richard “Mr. Casino” Taylor, the Memphis, Tenn., man accused as the ringleader of the group. Taking the witness stand in New London Superior Court, former Foxwoods dealer Brian Miller, 41, explained how he paid late bets to Taylor, 43, and a crew of co-conspirators in exchange for a cut of the winnings. His first encounter with Taylor came in 2001 while dealing in the “Club Newport” craps area for high rollers at Foxwoods. After winning a large sum of cash on behalf of the dealers at the table, Miller said Taylor agreed to meet later at the Dunkin’ Donuts in Preston for payment. At the planned rendezvous, Miller said it was not Taylor who met him, but a “beautiful, young, black lady,” who walked over to his car and dropped an envelope containing $10,000 in cash in his lap.
Miller said he distributed $1,500 cash to several other dealers and kept the rest for himself. He testified to several face-to-face meetings with Taylor to collect payments outside the casino. At one point Miller said he thought about stopping. “I just felt it was getting out of hand and I didn’t want to get caught up in it all,” Miller said.
Miller was among a dozen people, dealers, players and shift managers, arrested in connection with the scam last year. Dealers were allowing players to call out bets and place chips on the table after the dice had been thrown. State prosecutor Stephen Carney is attempting to prove Taylor masterminded the entire conspiracy. The jury got a first-hand look at the fast-moving game when Carney set up a craps table Monday in the courtroom and let an expert explain the game.
The trial continues today. Taylor, represented by Ralph Bergman, is expected to take the witness stand in his own defense. Can't wait to hear what Mr. Casino Cool has to say!
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