LV man indicted in casino thefts

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

ACOMA PUEBLO, N.M. -- The former general manager of the Sky City Casino was indicted on charges of embezzling more than $25,000 in cash, credit and merchandise from the Acoma Indian tribe.

The four-count federal grand jury indictment against Vernon L. Lowrey, 42, was filed last week in U.S. District Court by U.S. Attorney John Kelly's office.

Each count carries a five-year prison term and a $250,000 fine, Kelly said. Thus, Lowrey could conceivably face a maximum 20 years in federal prison and a $1 million fine if convicted of all four counts.

According to the indictment, Lowrey embezzled $12,970 around Dec. 19, 1996, from the pueblo; took a Hitachi big screen television worth $1,799 in February 1997; took a Dell laptop computer worth $4,498 in April 1997; and took $6,180 worth of credit charged to a pueblo VISA card in October 1997. The Acoma tribe operates the Sky City Casino on Interstate 40 some 50 miles west of Albuquerque.

Prosecutors said Lowrey's current address is in Las Vegas, Nev. There was no telephone listing for him there, however, so he could not be reached for immediate comment.

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