Restitution paid for illegal-gambling ring role

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Lana Brooks showed up in Allen Superior Court on Monday with a check for $40,000 – her restitution for her role in an illegal-gambling operation at the New Haven American Legion Post 330.

By paying the $40,000 by June 18, the 55-year-old woman avoided having to pay $200,000 during her two-year term of probation.

Allen Superior Court Judge Fran Gull sentenced Brooks to a four-year suspended prison sentence. Brooks pleaded guilty in May to a charge of corrupt business influence.

As part of her plea agreement with prosecutors, additional charges of theft, professional gambling and unlawful charity gaming were dismissed.

Lana Brooks and her husband, Kenneth Brooks, 64, were among five New Haven residents arrested and charged in September after a probe of charity bingo games at the Legion post, including James E. Schultz, 68, John Gahan, 68, and Steven Bouse, 60,

All have pleaded guilty to their roles in the scheme.