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Tales of Woe
Detroit, MI – A Detroit man says his addiction to gambling drove him to rob a bank in downtown Cleveland and stab a Greyhound bus station security guard while attempting to escape.
George Lind, 37, pleaded guilty Thursday (Aug. 7) in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court to attempted murder, aggravated robbery and felonious assault, all on the morning of May 20. Lind could receive up to 38 years in prison when Judge Peggy Foley Jones sentences him Sept. 8.
Lind's lawyer, John Luskin, said his client was a mental and financial wreck when he arrived in Cleveland from a gambling binge on the roulette wheels at an Atlantic City casino May 19. Lind had lost thousands of dollars, couldn't afford a bus ticket all the way home and only wanted enough money to get back to Detroit, Luskin said.
"He had lost his life's savings," Luskin said after the hearing. "This was an act of desperation."
After spending the night in a shelter for the homeless, Lind donned a woman's wig, put a knife in his pocket and walked into the Charter One Bank at Superior Avenue and East 12th Street. He walked out with several hundred dollars in cash and dashed back to the bus station.
But before buying a ticket, Lind ducked into the women's bathroom. Screams from women in the bathroom brought security guard Anthony Simpson running. Lind stabbed Simpson and fled, but the guard's cries for assistance alerted another guard, Sir Lloyd Williams.
"Lind thought his life was over," Luskin said after the hearing. "He wanted to die."
Lind brandished the knife at Williams, who shot him in the leg. Writhing in pain on the ground, Lind stabbed himself several times in the stomach before he was subdued by a Cleveland State University police officer, Daniel Crispino.
A court psychiatrist confirmed that Lind suffered from a severe mental disease - gambling addiction - but that it was in remission on the day of the crimes. The psychiatrist said Lind is not insane and would have been able to assist Luskin in his defense had he chosen to stand trial.
In court yesterday, Lind turned to face four of his victims seated in the back row - the two security guards, the police officer and a bank teller, Jahaira Ortiz - and blurted out, "I'm sorry," before succumbing to tears. (Cleveland Plain Dealer
“I’m a little dubious of these grand projections about the effects of casinos on economic growth and revenues to government, especially when the industry hasn’t really been established in the state. The effects of these casinos won’t be seen for years, but politicians tend to have short political lives. It’s easier to amplify the benefits now and worry about the costs later.”
-- Thomas Garrett, assistant vice president,
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
No state has ever gambled its way to prosperity.
No state has ever avoided budget deficits or tax increases by building casinos.
In fact, of the 26 states that are projected to have large budget deficits over the next two years, 20 of them have gambling.
Connecticut, with two of the biggest and most successful casinos in the world, and nearby Rhode Island, with its huge Twin Rivers and Newport Grand casinos, have higher taxes than Massachusetts. So does Pennsylvania, with more than a dozen casinos.
Maine opened its first casino two years ago - and this year has a record $200 million budget shortfall.
Even New Jersey, with its 17 casinos, had to shut down its state government last year due to a budget crisis.
And even if you never go to the casinos, you’ll be paying for them through higher social service costs, public safety costs, court costs, etc.
So the next time you hear a Massachusetts politician tell you that casinos are the way out of of our state budget problems, ask him or her for the evidence. Name one state where budget deficits were avoided by building gambling casinos. It hasn’t happened yet, and it won’t happen in Massachusetts.
For an excellent analysis of Gov. Patrick’s casino fantasy, click here.
