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Luzerne County Fair to offer entertainment, activities during second day

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Hot Spot: Coal City Tavern in Luzerne offers original dishes in friendly atmosphere

<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; A former cocktail waitress embroiled in a high-stakes scheme to defraud Mohegan Sun Pocono casino out of more than $420,000 pleaded guilty Thursday to a federal money laundering charge.</p><p>Rochelle Poszeluznyj, 38, of Kingston, struck a plea deal with federal prosecutors Aug. 1, agreeing to admit she helped a casino big shot and a frequent gambler secure personal identification numbers for rewards cards the two men later duplicated and used to collect $422,147 in winnings.</p><p>Poszeluznyj entered the plea on a single count of conspiracy to commit money laundering Thursday before U.S. District Judge A. Richard Caputo, according to court records. She was released on her own recognizance pending sentencing.</p><p>Prosecutors say Poszeluznyj could face up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and fines totalling $500,000, though she will likely see a reduced sentence if she accepts responsibility for the crime.</p><p>The former waitress had faced several dozen charges in county court, including 174 felonies, but the charges were withdrawn when federal prosecutors charged her in a criminal information filed July 30.</p><p>Former casino Vice President of Player Development Robert J. Pellegrini, 50, of Fairview Township, and gambler Mark J. Heltzel, 52, of Dallas, have pleaded not guilty, but are engaged in plea talks with federal prosecutors, court filings indicate.</p><p>According to prosecutors, Poszeluznyj stole Players&#8217; Club card PINs from patrons to whom she served drinks and provided them to Heltzel, with whom she had &#8220;an ongoing personal relationship.&#8221; Gamblers use the cards in slot machines and acquire points that can be used to claim free perks ranging from drinks to hotel rooms, according to the casino&#8217;s website.</p><p>Heltzel then gave the PINs to Pellegrini, who duplicated the cards and loaded them with free-play credits.</p><p>Pellegrini&#8217;s job duties, prosecutors say, required him to reward frequent patrons with perks, including adding drinks, meals and free slot play to their Players&#8217; Club cards, to which he had &#8220;unfettered access.&#8221;</p><p>Prosecutors say the two men instructed Poszeluznyj to seek out gamblers with higher-level club cards that allowed more credits to be added.</p><p>Heltzel then gambled with the fraudulent free play, winning $422,147 that was split between the trio, prosecutors say.</p><p>The scheme was allegedly spread across approximately 160 individual Players&#8217; Club cards between May 2014 and April 2015.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Poszeluznyj </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/web1_web1_web1_Rochelle-6-1.jpg-6-1.jpg</photo0><caption0>Poszeluznyj </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Joe Dolinsky</p><p>jdolinsky@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Joe Dolinsky at 570-991-6110 or on Twitter @JoeDolinskyTL.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Former Mohegan Sun cocktail waitress pleads guilty in $420K fraud scheme