Online Poker Bribe Investigation Involving Harry Reid Resurfaces

When holding a position of power, such as a senator or representative in the United States, one is expected to act in a certain manner. The individual is to uphold the law and act in accordance to the rules governing the state as well as the nation. However, there have been plenty of times when politicians have broken the law and paid the price. Currently, one outgoing politician of Nevada is facing scrutiny as allegations resurface that he was involved in an online poker bribe.

Harry Reid is the outgoing senator of Nevada who has been believed to have accepted a bribe of $2 million to push an online poker bill through legislation. An investigation has taken place on the matter and the FBI has denied that they are trying block any efforts for the truth to come out.

The Salt Lake Tribune has reported that Troy Rawlings, the Davis County Attorney of Utah, is currently holding an investigation into an offshore payment of $2 million made to a company that has been allegedly tied to Reid. However, there have been numerous times that Rawlings has tried to bring up the situation to the public and has yet to prove yes or no that Reid was involved.

Within the past few years, Reid has been very wishy-washy on the subject of online poker. While he was a big part of the regulation for online poker taking place in Nevada he has also been opposed to the activity. In the beginning, after being asked if he would support an online poker ban, he said that he would. As of late, Reid has been on the side of supporters for RAWA legislation which points him in the opposite direction of what he did to see online poker take place in the state.

According to the report, the financial dealings of Reid are making headlines and Rawlings feels that the FBI failed when it came to investigating the movements of the $2 million from a check that was linked to Full Tilt. The bribery scandal first came to light back in September and it seems that Rawlings had hit a road block since that time in his efforts to uncover the truth.

Currently, there is no evidence that will confirm Reid helped pass the legislation for online poker in exchange for $2 million. According to the report, payment processor Jeremy Johnson took $2 million from an account at SunFirst Bank back in November of 2010 via traveler’s check with the funds coming from an account linked to Full Tilt under the name Powder Monkeys. The check was made out to an entity from Full Tilt known as Mail Media Ltd. The check was then supposedly sent to Iam Imrich, an attorney for gaming based in LA, who had worked for FTP in the past.

The check was then forwarded to the Mail Media account in Switzerland. The payment channel was then said to be from Switzerland to Reid. However, the paper trail from this point is not solid.

In the meantime, the Utah Department of Public Safety as well as the FBI have released a statement together in the matter, denying trying to stop such an investigation. In the statement it read that at no time did the Department of Public Safety or the FBI ask for an investigation to be backed off in regards to a public official.

For now, the information provided by the Salt Lake Tribune is an interesting read. It will be interesting to see if more information comes to light or if Reid himself comes forward and has something to say on the matter.