Tweet
Ottumwa, Iowa)--In a warrant obtained to search Wapello County Supervisor Jerry Parker's home, former Ottumwa Regional Health Foundation President Michael Feinstein is quoted as "knowing" that Ottumwa High School Coaches Tom Kopatich and Dave Clement, as well as Indian Hills Community College Coach Lorenzo Watkins, and Athletic Director Kelly Conrad used Parker as their bookmaker to place sports bets.
The subsequent search warrants remain sealed, however Parker's is open. Parker's warrant states that when interviewed, Kopatich admitted going to various casinos with Feinstein. He also admitted to placing bets on various sporting events using an on-line gambling web site. The website Kopatich said he used to place bets was www.betthelegend.com. In the warrant, Kopatich stated that he used his home computer to place bets on-line.
After search warrants were served at Ottumwa High School, the Ottumwa School District launched its own investigation into the alleged gambling activities. According to a statement issued by the district, no evidence was found showing that school employees were involved with any local bookmaking activities. However, there was evidence that some employees had gambled on the Internet using school property. The statement goes on to say "the district considers this to be a serious matter, and disciplinary action has been taken." The nature of the disciplinary action is not explained; it is a personnel matter, and according to the statement, will remain confidential.
As to the legality of the gambling web site, www.betthelegend.com claims to be "an on-line gaming site located off-shore, and operated by a foreign company where it's legal to accept international wagers". Whether or not it's legal for Iowans to place bets using sites such as www.betthelegend.com is a topic of some debate. "States are trying to work together on how to deal with this issue, it's a sort of new issue of on-line gambling. It may be illegal, all kinds of gambling are illegal, including on-line, but they haven't determined how to approach that," said Communications Director Bob Brammer from the Iowa Attorney General's Office.
The subsequent search warrants remain sealed, however Parker's is open. Parker's warrant states that when interviewed, Kopatich admitted going to various casinos with Feinstein. He also admitted to placing bets on various sporting events using an on-line gambling web site. The website Kopatich said he used to place bets was www.betthelegend.com. In the warrant, Kopatich stated that he used his home computer to place bets on-line.
After search warrants were served at Ottumwa High School, the Ottumwa School District launched its own investigation into the alleged gambling activities. According to a statement issued by the district, no evidence was found showing that school employees were involved with any local bookmaking activities. However, there was evidence that some employees had gambled on the Internet using school property. The statement goes on to say "the district considers this to be a serious matter, and disciplinary action has been taken." The nature of the disciplinary action is not explained; it is a personnel matter, and according to the statement, will remain confidential.
As to the legality of the gambling web site, www.betthelegend.com claims to be "an on-line gaming site located off-shore, and operated by a foreign company where it's legal to accept international wagers". Whether or not it's legal for Iowans to place bets using sites such as www.betthelegend.com is a topic of some debate. "States are trying to work together on how to deal with this issue, it's a sort of new issue of on-line gambling. It may be illegal, all kinds of gambling are illegal, including on-line, but they haven't determined how to approach that," said Communications Director Bob Brammer from the Iowa Attorney General's Office.