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Sheriff's office charges second man in gambling operation
W RAVAL
Nitalkumar Jagdishchandra Raval
    Bulloch County Sheriff's investigators arrested a second convenience store owner on gambling charges, said Bulloch County Sheriff Lynn Anderson.
    Nitalkumar Jagdishchandra Raval, 28, Moss Creek Circle, was charged with obstruction and keeping a gambling place after Bulloch County Sheriff's Inv. Jared Akins questioned him regarding an arrest earlier in the week of a man with whom Raval had " business connections," he said.
    Deputies arrested that man, Manoj Patel, 37, Circle Drive, last week on commercial gambling and keeping a gambling facility charges. Patel was discovered to have made illegal payouts to customers who won while playing video poker/electronic slot machine games, he said.
    Raval owns the Motor Mate convenience store on Ga. 24 across from Mill Creek Park. He once had several of the video poker machines in his store, but removed them after receiving a letter from the Bulloch County Commission warning that the machines were a violation of county ordinance, and he stood to lose his alcohol license if the machines remained.
    Raval told Akins he sent all his machines to another store he owns in Vidalia, but in fact, he had been keeping them in his garage, Anderson said.
    The machines had been moved to a neighbor's home a few days before Akins questioned Raval, and his providing investigators with false information resulted in  the obstruction charge, he said.
    Raval also admitted having allowed at least one person to play  the machines while they were in his garage, which resulted in the charge of keeping a gambling place, he said.
    Anderson said United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) special agents are reviewing Raval's visa status as well.
    Providing there are no issues with his visa, Raval will be given a $2,000 property bond and will face court procedures, he said.

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