PD: Illegal gambling operation probe stretches from Goodyear to Phoenix and into California

GOODYEAR, AZ - From an indoor golf facility to a Phoenix card room, city, state and federal investigators say they have busted an illegal gambling operation that brought in hundreds of thousands of dollars per year.

The most recent move made by Goodyear detectives took them to Carlsbad, Calif. where they searched the home of a former Valley resident.

According to detectives, it all started about four months ago when a resident complained to the Goodyear City Council about late night, illegal card games.

The information led investigators to the Bunker Indoor Golf & Training Facility, according to city officials.

"They (indoor golf facility) had a whole other business going on there and then we found out they had a night-life going on there where this illegal gambling was going on," said Goodyear Lt. Jason DeHaan.

The Bunker Indoor Golf & Training Facility is now closed, according to DeHaan, but the tip from the citizen allowed them to gather details that led them to another location.

"It wasn't even on our radar or a concern or anything," said DeHaan. "Without this tip from the concerned citizen the business might still be going today."

According to court documents, Goodyear detectives began investigating Harry Lewis Glazer in connection with the illegal gambling investigation, which in turn led them to a Phoenix card room.

"This is something where there were a lot of tentacles and a tremendous amount of investigating to track all of this information down," said DeHaan.  "I think it may be the first major illegal gambling investigation many in this department have been involved with."

According to search warrant paperwork obtained by ABC15, Goodyear detectives used undercover officers to become members and take part in poker games at The Nuts Card Room in north Phoenix.

"We were able to firsthand view what they call 'button fees', where the business is making money off each hand," said DeHaan.

In the court documents, the "house" was taking in hundreds of thousands of dollars, and some investigators believe the overall tally covering a year may be as high as a million dollars in illegal profits.

DeHaan says two SWAT teams raided the Nuts Card Room and detained 52 people.

"We used two teams to enter the business because there were so many people inside and we really didn't know how they would react," DeHaan explained. "Yes, there were 52 people inside including staff we detained and everybody was either in there playing or managing or somehow working there."

Turns out, the night of the December raid on the card room, everyone was let go, however, everything inside the north Phoenix business was seized.

"We seized the tables, chairs, poker chips, any other equipment used to help them out in that crime," said DeHaan.

To be clear, no one has been arrested or charged in the ongoing investigation, but DeHaan says that could soon change.

"We definitely have enough to charge the defendants but that's actually up to the attorney general's office," said DeHaan.

As part of the investigation, Goodyear detectives and investigators from the Arizona Department of Gaming served a search warrant on the home of Harry Lewis Glazer.

Glazer and another man, Bradley Steven Clark, are the two people named in the court documents.

While nobody has been charged, investigators say they are currently reviewing computer hard-drives and other information recovered from Glazer's California home.

"That is the part we're still ongoing in our investigation to gather any more data or intel from that, so it's definitely going to take a little time to go through that," said DeHaan.

The documents show detectives also recovered cell phones, paperwork, watches, money, gold, computer parts and a passports from Glazer's home.

DeHaan said, aside from the computer work to be done on the items recovered from the search warrant, the basic investigation conducted by the Goodyear Police Department has concluded.

According to DeHaan all of the information is in the hands of the Attorney General's office along with other state agencies.