Of the three people cited during raids at the Salisbury and Spencer Moose lodges, one has been sentence and two await hearings.
Rowan County Alcohol Beverage Control (ABC) officers raided the Spencer Moose Lodge on Elizabeth Avenue and the Salisbury lodge on Ritchie Road in November, confiscating liquor and gambling machines.
Spencer lodge Manager Roman Burton Starnes, cited by ABC officers for liquor and gambling violations, received 200 hours of community service at a hearing in mid-January. His case will be reviewed in July.
Rebecca Ruth Gutierrez, Spencer lodge bartender, appeared in court Jan. 9 on charges of gambling and selling liquor without a permit. The gambling charge was dismissed and the other charge continued to Feb. 6.
Officials cited Gilman D. Renna, from the Salisbury lodge, with illegal alcohol sales and gambling violations. Renna is scheduled to appear in court Feb. 20.
Agents say they confiscated more than 180 liters of illegal liquor at the Spencer lodge. The facility had been serving liquor by the drink, agents said, even though that is not legal in Spencer.
Agents found documents indicating the sale of illegal liquor had been going on for some time. Three video poker machines were legally registered, but the search recovered receipts for illegal payoffs for all three machines.
At the Salisbury lodge, agents confiscated three video poker machines and 10 to 15 gallons of liquor.
The violations against the individual lodges are still pending, according to ABC Law Enforcement Division Chief Ray Shuler. The lodges will receive a letter indicating any proposed disciplinary action the state feels is warranted.
This process gives the lodges the opportunity to settle the case outside a hearing. If they don’t accept, the case goes to an administrative court hearing.
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