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<p>PLAINS TWP. &#8212; The former Vice President of Player Development for Mohegan Sun Pocono Casino must post $500,000 cash bail to get out of jail on charges of defrauding the casino, a judge ruled Thursday.</p><p>Robert Pellegrini, 50, of Fairview Township, appeared before Magisterial District Judge Joseph D. Spagnuolo Jr. for a preliminary arraignment Thursday. After Spagnuolo set bail, Pellegrini left the courtroom in handcuffs and was taken to the Luzerne County Correctional Facility.</p><p>Spagnuolo also set <a href="https://www.timesleader.com/news/local/505217/man-accused-of-scamming-over-400k-from-mohegan-sun-pocono-casino-goes-to-jail-for-lack-of-500k-bail" target="_blank">bail at $500,000 cash for Mark Heltzel</a>, 51, at his preliminary arraignment Wednesday.</p><p>Pellegrini&#8217;s attorney Michael Butera questioned the bail.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s extremely over the top,&#8221; he said. &#8220;It&#8217;s extremely high.&#8221;</p><p>Butera said he plans to file a petition with the Luzerne County Court of Common Pleas to try to reduce the bail for his client.</p><p>Thomas Marsilio, assistant district attorney, argued during the proceedings for a bail matching that of Heltzel&#8217;s, adding that Heltzel&#8217;s role in the scheme was &#8220;lesser&#8221; than Pellegrini&#8217;s.</p><p>He also described Pellegrini as the &#8220;mastermind&#8221; of the alleged scheme.</p><p>&#8220;According to the allegations, he is, in fact, the mover and shaker of the entire operation,&#8221; he said. &#8220;He is the mastermind.&#8221;</p><p><a href="https://www.timesleader.com/news/local/505058/three-charged-with-scamming-mohegan-sun-pocono-casino" target="_blank">According to police,</a> Pellegrini, Rochelle Poszeluznyj, 37, a beverage server at the casino, and Heltzel, a gambler, played $487,100 in slot play. They allegedly cashed out winnings of $418,792 from the fraudulent slot play.</p><p>Batura, however, said his client maintains his innocence.</p><p>&#8220;These are mere allegations,&#8221; he said, adding he just received the criminal complaint Thursday and would be looking at it closely.</p><p>Court documents indicate Poszeluznyj&#8217;s boyfriend, also an employee of the casino, had tensions with Heltzel as he had been involved with Poszeluznyj &#8220;in some manner&#8221; at the same time. Poszeluznyj&#8217;s boyfriend notified casino officials of the alleged scheme in April.</p><p>Poszeluznyj also appeared before Spagnuolo for a preliminary arraignment Wednesday, but is free on $100,000 unsecured bail.</p><p>As a result of the scheme, Pellegrini, Heltzel and Poszeluznyj each face over 100 charges that include felony counts of identity theft, theft by unlawful taking, receiving stolen property and theft by deception.</p><p>Preliminary hearings for Pellegrini, Posszeluznyj and Heltzel have been scheduled for Feb. 1 before Spagnuolo.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Robert Joseph Pelrgrini leaves his arraignment in custody of the PA State Police Thursday morning. Pellegrini, the former vice president of player development at Mohegan Sun Pocono casino is charged in a scheme that swindled the casino out of $400,000. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/web1_TTL012216casino.jpg</photo1><caption1>Robert Joseph Pelrgrini leaves his arraignment in custody of the PA State Police Thursday morning. Pellegrini, the former vice president of player development at Mohegan Sun Pocono casino is charged in a scheme that swindled the casino out of $400,000. </caption1><photoCredit1>Clark Van Orden | Times Leader </photoCredit1></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><subheadMeta>Ruling comes a day after another defendant also jailed for lack of $500k bail</subheadMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Travis Kellar</p><p>tkellar@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div>

Former Mohegan Sun VP jailed for lack of $500k bail on charges of scamming casino