Bush pardons former Nevada gambling executive

A former Nevada gambling company executive who pleaded guilty 13 years ago in a case involving a Louisiana video poker scandal and organized crime investigation has been granted a pardon by President Bush.

Alan Stephen Maiss, former president of Bally Gaming Inc., was among 19 people pardoned by Bush on Tuesday.

Maiss, in a deal with prosecutors, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in New Orleans on Dec. 20, 1995, to two counts of misprision of a felony, or failure to report a crime.

He was sentenced to one year of probation and fined $5,000.

Maiss did not immediately return a phone message left by The Associated Press at his Reno home seeking comment on his pardon.

The charges stemmed from Bally Gaming's involvement in the 1990s with two video poker distributors, Worldwide Gaming of Louisiana and Louisiana Route Operators. Federal prosecutors claimed the companies were fronts for mob figures seeking to gain a foothold in Louisiana's video poker industry.

Maiss' pleas surrounded his alleged knowledge that Worldwide Gaming was being operated illegally by Christopher Tanfield, who did not have a Louisiana gambling license.

In all, 25 people were convicted in the case, including Tanfield.

Prosecutors never charged Maiss with knowingly dealing with or causing Bally to deal with organized crime. Bally was later acquired by another company.

At Maiss' sentencing, court documents show the judge noted "the government has recognized the defendant's substantial assistance in the prosecution of other defendants."

Maiss appealed his case five years later and sought to withdraw his guilty pleas, saying the convictions "severely restricted" his ability to work as an investment broker or adviser.

A three-judge panel from the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals denied his appeal in 2002.