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<< Previous   of   Next >>   ADVERTISEMENT   CONTACT THE HERALD Robert Frank, City Editor frank@heraldnet.com   Published: Wednesday, July 9, 2008 Hockey raffle out $14,000 By Diana Hefley Herald Writer EVERETT -- An Edmonds man is accused of stealing thousands of dollars from Silvertips fans who bought tickets for the popular 50/50 raffle that supports junior hockey players around Snohomish County. Sean Michael Tindall, 37, for years was a volunteer with the Seattle Junior Hockey Association in Mountlake Terrace. He pocketed at least $14,000 from the association's raffles at Silvertips games, Snohomish County prosecutors alleged Monday. They've charged him with first-degree theft, a felony. Tindall allegedly told investigators he'd been stealing raffle proceeds since 2004 to feed his gambling addiction, court documents show. The theft charge stems from an ongoing investigation by the Washington State Gambling Commission, which regulates the nonprofit hockey association's raffles and bingo games. Junior hockey officials are heartsick. "It's a very bitter pill to swallow when one of your trusted volunteers, who you think wants what's best for the kids, allegedly steals," the association's executive director, Ric Newgard, said Tuesday. The long-standing league is one of the biggest youth hockey programs in the state and every years serves up to 600 kids ages 5 to 18. There are more than 30 teams and the organization helps operate two ice rinks in south Snohomish County. The hockey league uses the 50/50 raffle at Tips games to help families offset the costs of tournaments and travel expenses, officials said. Hockey fees and equipment can cost a family between $800 and $2,000 a season for each child. Travel and tournament costs are extra. Junior hockey teams sell $2 raffle tickets at the Silvertips' home games to bridge the gap. The winning ticket holder keeps half the proceeds and the rest is supposed to go to the youth teams. "If this turns out to be true, I think it's a breaking of a trust on the highest level. These raffles help make hockey accessible and affordable for families who struggle to pay," said Rick Ellison, the hockey association's director of athletics. The raffle helps give kids opportunities they may not have otherwise, he said. The association this week sent out letters to parents to inform them of the theft investigation. League officials first brought the suspected theft to the attention of the gambling commission in November. Officials with the hockey organization discovered that Tindall owed money to a sporting goods store and a spring hockey league. The debts were of concern because Tindall was one of the lead raffle record keepers and handled cash, court documents show. The association audited the raffle records handled by Tindall and found discrepancies in the number of tickets he reported sold as well as gaps in raffle ticket numbers, prosecutors wrote. Tindall allegedly didn't record the sales of more than 10,000 tickets for two dozen raffles between March 2006 and October 2007, prosecutors wrote. Instead, he allegedly underreported how many tickets volunteers sold during the raffles and kept the money for himself. His thefts meant less money for the jackpot winners and for the hockey league, gambling commission spokeswoman Amy Hunter said. "It looks like he was taking money off the top and not accurately recording sales," she said. Commission agents were able to document $14,200 in losses, court papers show. Tindall likely took more, Hunter said. He allegedly told agents he'd been fudging the numbers since 2004 and because no one caught on, he kept stealing, court documents show. Tindall allegedly told agents he skimmed about $400 to $600 from each raffle. He would take the money directly to a casino and gamble, prosecutors wrote. Tindall, who is out of custody, is scheduled to be arraigned on July 22. The hockey league and gambling commission regularly audit raffle records. The organization has safeguards in place, Hunter said. Agents have spoken with the association about some improvements they can make to the system in an attempt to prevent future thefts. The commission doesn't have plans to impose sanctions against the league's raffle license, she said. Silvertips officials were told of the investigation, and they plan on continuing to allow the youth hockey association to offer raffles during home games. "We're obviously saddened to hear the news. We plan to continue working with the Seattle Junior Hockey Association. They didn't do anything wrong," Silvertips general manager Doug Soetaert said. "We feel for them. They're a good group of people. Unfortunately it sounds like there was one bad apple." READER COMMENTS Be the first to comment. You must be a registered user and verify your e-mail address to post comments to blogs or articles on HeraldNet. To register, click here. To read other terms and conditions, click here. Log out

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