PENNY-ANTE POLICING

Novi residents should sleep easier these days. Just last week the police
successfully busted a gambling gang at the Maples of Novi condominium
complex. The gang had been operating, it appears, for at least five years
now.

The sting required much investigation and meticulous planning.

Early in the summer, the Novi police received an anonymous tip alerting
them to the gambling activity in the Maples of Novi clubhouse. Because the
facility has a liquor license and houses a public restaurant, the major
crimes task force - which typically deals with serious drug enforcement
matters and is composed of police departments from two other cities was
assigned to the mission.

The task force sent undercover officers to the clubhouse who observed
people playing poker late into the night nearly 10 p.m. At the end of
the evening, they saw some players trade their poker chips for money hard,
crisp one-dollar bills.

The agents returned a few days later. They pulled the club's general
manager, Todd Gerhart, aside and informed him of the planned bust. It was
around 8 p.m. then. They ordered beer and appetizers and waited.

Soon the gang of six - ranging from ages between 55 to 90 - congregated,
and the poker game began. The officers bided their time. When the game was
in full swing, the officers went up to the table and announced the bust.
None of the suspects attempted to escape - even though two of them had
their walkers close at hand.

Then in full view of 80 people in the clubhouse, the officers escorted the
nickel-and-dime poker gang outside, took down names and addresses and
confiscated the poker chips.

Lane Combs, another club manager, noted that the suspects were sipping
water and Diet Coke at the time of the bust. One of the suspects even has
thousands of hours of civic work on his record. The Novi police chief is
expected to soon file a report to the prosecutor's office, which will then
decide whether to press charges against the suspects.

The Novi City Council recently agreed to put on the November ballot a
proposal for $3.5 million to upgrade the police station. Novi voters should
bear in mind how the city police are using the money before they approve
the proposal.

Checked-by: Pat Dolan