Coin Slot Magazine - #044 - 1978 - September [International Arcade Museum]
SAN JOSE MERCURY, August 1978
Alleged Mafia figure
sues sheriff
for slot machine
Vito Adragna
* . Listed by Younger
By George Newman
Staff Writer
Vito Frank Adragna. a San
Josean named in an attorney
generals list of organized
crime figures, has sued the
Santa Clara County sheriff to
get his slot machine back.
He says its an antique, and
he's a collector.
He .ilso wants $466 - $1 for
each day he's been deprived of
it.
"Antique9 slot
. . .Seized last year
a horse race at Golden Gate
Fields in Albany
He subsequently pleaded no
contest to a charge of conspir
ing to engage in bookmaking.
and other charges were dis
missed. He was fined $400 and
given a year's probation.
The machine, which alleged
ly didn't function, was found in
his son's bedroom It had no
back or coin box attached, ac
cording to the suit
1940 model, it was manufac
tured sometime between 1940
and
1946. the suit says
Be
cause the bark of the machine
is missing, the exact date of
manufacture is impossible to
determine, the suit further al
leges.
|
That's important, be da use
state law allows authorities to
seize slot machines
The law
also provides for a $500 fine,
six months in jail and destruc
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The machine, a 1940 model
Mills Black Beauty Tnple-7,
was confiscated April 18. 1977
when
sheriff's
deputies
searched Adragna s home at
1585 Ahsal Ave.
At the time. Adragna was ar
rested by the sheriff's organ
ised crime unit in a probe in
volving alleged attempts to fix
The suit, filed in Santa Clara
County Superior Court, alleges
that the slot machine is an an
tique and no longer used by
gambling houses in Nevada be
cause it has no electronic de
vices to control payoffs or
maintain records for tax pur-
Though
the
machine
is
a
tion of the equipment.
However, machine manufac
tured before 1941 are excepted.
They are officially designated
antiques.
"The slot machine is of his
torical value due to its external,
design and finish, reminiscent
of a bygone era." Adragna's
suit says.
CREDIT: Gm$ l&wis, PO Box 2262, Dublin, CA 94566
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36