Police Bust Illegal Slot Machine Operation at Bristol Sports Club

Three men are facing organized gambling charges after a two-month-long Rhode Island State Police investigation culminated Wednesday with a raid at Bristol Sports Club at 416 Wood St., where detectives found five slot machines, about $11,000 cash and betting slips and ledgers.

Arrested were Kevin Connolly, 55, of Canton, Mass.; Antonio DeMatos, 76, of 37 Wall St., Bristol; and Norberto Pacheco, 71, of 163 Bradford St., also of Bristol and all three are facing numerous organized gambling charges and conspiracy for an operation that reportedly involved Connolly controlling the machines.

During the investigation, police learned that Connolly would routinely travel from Canton in the early morning hours and dispense cash from the machines.

Members of the club accessed the slot machines in a second-floor room accessible through a secured doorway that required a pass code to enter.

Winners would bring slips to cash out downstairs at the bar, police said.

Early on Wednesday, members of the State Police Intelligence Unit and the Bristol Police Department executed search warrants for the club and once inside, they found Pacheco downstairs in the bar area carrying $3,700 cash.

Connolly was upstairs working on the slot machines near $4,200 stacked on a table. Police also found $3,000 in a cash box and register downstairs near payout slips from the slots.

Four fully operational slot machines were located right next to a large poster on the wall providing instructions on how to use the machine.

A fifth machine was found in a locked office that Pacheco had access to, police said.

Police found betting slips and ledgers in the office and throughout the entire establishement.

In a release, police said Pacheco asked to contact his “boss,” DeMatos, who reportedly controlled the operation. He came to the club on his own accord and was taken into custody without incident.

Both Pacheco and DeMAtos reportedly “provided formal statements in which they admitted knowledge and culpability in the illegal operation.”

All three were arraigned in Sixth Division District Court before Justice J. Terrence Houlihan and released.

Pacheco and DeMatos were released on $10,000 personal recognizance and Connolly was released on $2,500 surety bail.

Police said the investigation is ongoing and more arrests are possible.

Photo: Town of Bristol Assessment Data