Are the Feds Looking at Indianapolis’ Pea Shake Houses?
What started out as a raid at a local pea shake house on Indianapolis’ west side could actually be the tip of the iceberg. Although officials will not confirm, reliable sources are saying that several Federal law enforcement agencies are looking at the city’s pea shake houses for possible federal racketeering charges because of possible ties to organized crime.
Sources say the Government has identified nearly a dozen pea shake houses with net profits of more than $29 million, after payouts. And that is a conservative estimate. There is also reason for the federal government to believe that in addition to those profits, millions more have been funneled into financing drugs, prostitution and loan sharking. Money may have also been funneled into financing legitimate businesses in Indianapolis.
A spokesperson for the Justice Department would neither confirm nor deny the investigation; however she did say that this type of scenario would fall under the purview of the federal government because such matters would be prosecuted under the RICO statutes.
Sources say this investigation has been taking place for the past three years and has managed to gather extensive information from video surveillance, wire taps, e-mail, cell phone conversations and bank records. It is not clear if the investigation includes any elected or appointed officials in Marion County. What is clear is that things in this county could get real interesting, real soon.
