VIRGINIA - Dennis Ray Maki didn't steal more than $400,000 to live an extravagant lifestyle, his defense attorney said Monday.
Maki, 50, of Eveleth, didn't use the stolen money to buy a fancier car, pay off his home mortgage or buy a place on Lake Vermilion.
"The closest Mr. Maki got to having a place on Lake Vermilion was sitting by a slot machine and looking out the window at Fortune Bay (Resort Casino)," Eveleth defense attorney Bruce Williams said after a plea hearing in St. Louis County District Court.
Maki told Judge Gary Pagliaccetti that he spent the money gambling at Fortune Bay Resort Casino in Tower and the Black Bear Casino in Carlton.
The defendant pleaded guilty to three counts of theft of corporate property from the Range Mental Health Center Inc. in Virginia, the Eveleth Youth Hockey Association and the Eveleth Elks Lodge.
Under the terms of a plea agreement Williams reached with the St. Louis County Attorney's office, Maki would serve a 33-month prison sentence and pay $400,117 in restitution.
Pagliaccetti deferred accepting the plea until a probation officer's investigation of Maki's background can be completed. Sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 4.
Williams called his client "an extremely remorseful man" with a gambling addiction. He said Maki was declining public comment.
"He understands the severity of his actions," Williams said. "He doesn't minimize it. He's embarrassed about it. It's something he doesn't forget about on a daily basis. Believe me, there are a number of people out there that send him text messages and put mail in his mailbox that don't let him forget about this."
Maki's thefts came to light in February when $38,991.31 in Eveleth Youth Hockey Association money was unaccounted for. Maki had been the secretary-treasurer of the hockey association for six or seven years, he said. He pleaded guilty to the theft of at least $26,000 from the association.
When Williams asked his client if he had violated his position of trust, Maki said, "Yes, very much so."
Three months after being charged with the hockey theft, Maki was charged with stealing more than $338,000 from Range Mental Health Center, where he had worked for 29 years. His job included receiving money from supervised work-release patrons who stayed at the center.
"A lot of times when they paid by cash, I would give them the receipt and keep the cash," Maki told Pagliaccetti.
When Williams asked Maki where the money went, he replied, "Mostly to the casino."
Williams told Pagliaccetti that Maki has a $31,000 vested pension from Range Mental Health Center that he would like to use to pay back the Eveleth Youth Hockey Association.
Maki's third theft became public in September when he was accused of stealing $36,051 from the Eveleth Elks Lodge, where he was formerly the gambling manager.
Maki's total restitution is $400,117. Williams said his client has another job, which he declined to disclose. He expects Maki to make a good-faith effort at paying back the money he stole.
"He doesn't take the attitude, 'I got caught. So what?' " Williams said. "This is a small community and he wants to try to pay back the victims for what he did."
"I think it was a fair and reasonable solution," said Karl Sundquist, assistant St. Louis County attorney, who prosecuted the case. "This is a gentleman who basically had no criminal history going into this. He was a person who was basically respected and liked by the workers and organizations he was with, but because of gambling he ended up in this situation."
Maki has gone through a gambling assessment, is involved in a treatment program and attends Gamblers Anonymous, Williams said.
Williams has had other clients who have committed crimes linked with gambling addictions, and he expects to have more.
"There's people out there right now that are doing this," he said. "They're working at a bank. They're working for a municipality. It's happening more and more frequently."
What can be done for those who get in over their heads?
"Get help immediately," Williams said. "Come clean and start correcting your path, because you're not going to win the money back. You're just chasing your losses."
Maki, 50, of Eveleth, didn't use the stolen money to buy a fancier car, pay off his home mortgage or buy a place on Lake Vermilion.
"The closest Mr. Maki got to having a place on Lake Vermilion was sitting by a slot machine and looking out the window at Fortune Bay (Resort Casino)," Eveleth defense attorney Bruce Williams said after a plea hearing in St. Louis County District Court.
Maki told Judge Gary Pagliaccetti that he spent the money gambling at Fortune Bay Resort Casino in Tower and the Black Bear Casino in Carlton.
The defendant pleaded guilty to three counts of theft of corporate property from the Range Mental Health Center Inc. in Virginia, the Eveleth Youth Hockey Association and the Eveleth Elks Lodge.
Under the terms of a plea agreement Williams reached with the St. Louis County Attorney's office, Maki would serve a 33-month prison sentence and pay $400,117 in restitution.
Pagliaccetti deferred accepting the plea until a probation officer's investigation of Maki's background can be completed. Sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 4.
Williams called his client "an extremely remorseful man" with a gambling addiction. He said Maki was declining public comment.
"He understands the severity of his actions," Williams said. "He doesn't minimize it. He's embarrassed about it. It's something he doesn't forget about on a daily basis. Believe me, there are a number of people out there that send him text messages and put mail in his mailbox that don't let him forget about this."
Maki's thefts came to light in February when $38,991.31 in Eveleth Youth Hockey Association money was unaccounted for. Maki had been the secretary-treasurer of the hockey association for six or seven years, he said. He pleaded guilty to the theft of at least $26,000 from the association.
When Williams asked his client if he had violated his position of trust, Maki said, "Yes, very much so."
Three months after being charged with the hockey theft, Maki was charged with stealing more than $338,000 from Range Mental Health Center, where he had worked for 29 years. His job included receiving money from supervised work-release patrons who stayed at the center.
"A lot of times when they paid by cash, I would give them the receipt and keep the cash," Maki told Pagliaccetti.
When Williams asked Maki where the money went, he replied, "Mostly to the casino."
Williams told Pagliaccetti that Maki has a $31,000 vested pension from Range Mental Health Center that he would like to use to pay back the Eveleth Youth Hockey Association.
Maki's third theft became public in September when he was accused of stealing $36,051 from the Eveleth Elks Lodge, where he was formerly the gambling manager.
Maki's total restitution is $400,117. Williams said his client has another job, which he declined to disclose. He expects Maki to make a good-faith effort at paying back the money he stole.
"He doesn't take the attitude, 'I got caught. So what?' " Williams said. "This is a small community and he wants to try to pay back the victims for what he did."
"I think it was a fair and reasonable solution," said Karl Sundquist, assistant St. Louis County attorney, who prosecuted the case. "This is a gentleman who basically had no criminal history going into this. He was a person who was basically respected and liked by the workers and organizations he was with, but because of gambling he ended up in this situation."
Maki has gone through a gambling assessment, is involved in a treatment program and attends Gamblers Anonymous, Williams said.
Williams has had other clients who have committed crimes linked with gambling addictions, and he expects to have more.
"There's people out there right now that are doing this," he said. "They're working at a bank. They're working for a municipality. It's happening more and more frequently."
What can be done for those who get in over their heads?
"Get help immediately," Williams said. "Come clean and start correcting your path, because you're not going to win the money back. You're just chasing your losses."
