A Westmoreland County attorney already facing charges of unlawful gambling for holding Texas Hold’em poker tournaments at area fire halls was charged this week with holding three other tournaments in Seward.

State police are accusing defense attorney Lawrence J. Burns, 63, of 16 Romar Ave., Derry Township, with several counts of violating state gambling laws for holding illegal poker tournaments April 27, May 4 and Aug. 3 at the Seward fire hall.

Last month, state police charged Burns and his business partner, James L. Hricko, 41, of 1400 Swede Hill Road, Hempfield, with violating state gambling laws for holding tournaments in Hempfield and Seward. The first set of charges were filed before Hempfield District Judge Mark Mansour.

Since early August, state police have executed three search warrants in connection with the case, seizing almost $43,000 in alleged gambling funds, according to court records.

The Hempfield and Seward tournaments were advertised on a sign outside the fire hall and a Web site, www.riverloc.com, registered to Burns, the affidavit states.

Click here to go to the article and read more.

Author Contact Info: Paul Peirce, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

This entry was posted on Saturday, October 6th, 2007 at 12:00 am and is filed under Headlines. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can from your own site.