Fraud Charges Filed Against Man Who Allegedly Used Fake Poker Chips In AC Then Flushed Them Down The Toilet
By David Madden
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (CBS) - A clogged toilet down the shore helped New Jersey authorities track down a North Carolina man indicted Wednesday for allegedly trying to rig a poker tournament at an Atlantic City casino last year.
A grand jury indicted 43-year-old Christian Lusardi of Fayetteville on counterfeiting, theft and criminal mischief charges. Acting New Jersey Attorney General John Hoffman says Lusardi allegedly used some of the more than $3-million in bogus chips during a Borgata poker tournament that had to be stopped when those chips were discovered in play.
So why a criminal mischief charge?
"He flushed a couple million dollars worth down the toilet both at the Borgata and at Harrah's where he was staying," explains Hoffman.
So many chips the plumbing got clogged up.
"You think you have seen everything and clearly do not," says Hoffman.
Lusardi will be brought back to face the charges at some point, but he'll be easy to find. He's doing five years in a federal prison back home after pleading guilty to dealing in bootleg DVDs.