Police bust alleged gambling ring

MARTINSVILLE, Ind. (WISH) - Just two weeks before the Super Bowl, a man accused of being a gambling bookie is behind bars and local gamblers’ names could be on a list now in the hands of police.

In a 24-Hour News 8 exclusive, only anchor Karen Hensel was allowed access in an early morning raid that put the spotlight on illegal gambling in the state.

In rural Morgan County, nestled among quiet cornfields and barns, lived Russell Hill, considered by police to be one of the state’s big sports bookies. Undercover investigators said he was making bank on the playoffs and was headed for even bigger money for the Super Bowl.

Col. Larry Rollins of the Indiana Gaming Commission decribed Hill as one of the "traditional ones we have grown up with in the movies, where you call a number and place a bet, or you go in and place a bet."

As he left in his white Cadillac Tuesday morning, police arrested Hill just blocks from the home he shares with his wife and 10-year-old child. At the same time as his arrest, Indiana State Police SWAT officers moved in on his home.

"Given the nature and location of the residence,” Rollins said, “we wanted to do it with caution."

Outside the home a sign was posted: "There is nothing here worth your life."

It reflected something officers had to consider.

"His reputation is that yes, he could be potentially dangerous," Rollins said.

Hill is allegedly linked to bars and other places throughout central Indiana.

"It is a rather detailed lengthy investigation, and he is involved in a great number of locations we believe, not just in Morgan County," Rollins said.

I-Team 8 was there as police carried boxes of evidence out of the home Tuesday.

"We are gathering additional information at this time, which includes records of the activities and things of that nature,” Rollins said.

When asked if police will look at who was placing bets with Hill, Rollins had a simple answer: "Absolutely".

"We will talk to individuals whose names we find,” he said. “They will be nervous, yes".

Illegal bets come from a wide variety of people, Rollins said, from professtionals to retirees who could also now be caught in the net.

It was a Crime Stoppers tip that led police to 63-year-old Hill, who has a lengthy criminal history including convictions for bank robbery, criminal confinement, cocaine and battery.

He was being held without bond Tuesday in the Morgan County Jail.