VERO BEACH — Their luck ran out.
A raid of the Longbranch Saloon in Vero Beach this week netted the arrests of the bar’s two owners and two employees on charges of maintaining a gambling house.
Authorities with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms had spent months investigating, often sending undercover agents into the illegal bingo games to observe the activities.
On Tuesday, the Vero Beach Police Department and the Indian River County Sheriff’s Office arrested owners Dennis Silver, 67, and Patricia Ann Silver, 63, as well as employees Richard Feely, 69, and Marianne Feely, 70, on warrants issued through the ATF.
All four were booked into the Indian River County Jail and each was subsequently released on $5,000 bond.
According to authorities, the state put owner Dennis Silver on notice earlier this year that the bingo games were illegal. However, Silver did not put an end to the games as investigators returned four times to observe the games.
Reports show that approximately 100 people, most of them appearing to be older than 50, came to the bar when bingo was held Thursday and Saturday afternoons.
