That’s roughly what the state’s Supreme Court acknowledged this week when it said that a $75,000 minimum fine levied against a poker dealer who stole $200 was unconstitutional, or “constitutionally excessive.”
“The fine at issue here, both in an absolute sense and in a comparative sense, is strikingly disproportionate to the way by which other crimes are punished in Pennsylvania. That the fine is mandatory merely exacerbates the disproportion,” wrote Chief Justice Ronald Castille within the unanimous, 33-page opinion, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported.
After stealing $200 in chips and putting them in his tip box in November 2010, Matthew Eisenberg, a former employee of The Rivers Casino, was caught and charged. He pleaded guilty, but under a Pennsylvania statute Eisenberg was hit with the mandatory—and minimum—$75,000 fine.
The maximum for any such crime is $150,000.
Eisenberg pleaded guilty in July 2011, and he was sentenced to 1 year of probation, to pay the $200 back and to pay the required personal-finance-crushing fine. In step with the Post-Gazette, on the time of the sentencing, Eisenberg was a student, was engaged to be married and was expecting a kid. It’s unclear if he’s still a student and/or still engaged.
Eisenberg’s attorney argued: “What we’re doing here, we’re protecting the rights of the casino. We have—the Legislature has placed the casino above everybody else in Pennsylvania."
Pennsylvania remained steadfast to its side of the argument:
The state argued that the Legislature’s decision to require a considerable fine within the 2004 Gaming Act is neither irrational nor unreasonable, for the reason that purpose of it's to offer protection to the general public by “punishing and deterring criminal behavior that might undermine public confidence within the gaming industry.”
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court’s decision comes at a time when another terrifying casino employee-related case is playing out within the state.
A former roulette dealer at Meadows Casino in Washington, Pennsylvania is facing criminal charges—“conspiracy” and “using illegal tips on how to win a bet”—for allegedly telling a gambler that his lucky number is four and that he’d attempt to hit it for the gambler.
Read More... [Source: CardPlayer Poker News]
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