New Details About South Houston Bingo Hall Raid

HOUSTON, TX — When deputies from the Harris County Sheriff's Office raided the Paradise Bingo Hall it wasn't immediately clear just how big of an operation was being run out of the South Houston address.

New details released by the Harris County District Attorney's Office show that the family running the organized crime ring were allegedly making serious bank.

A year-long, undercover investigation revealed that the crew behind Paradise Bingo had pulled down about $15 million since January 2012. They were using a string of ATMs owned by some of their family members to launder the money.

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The crew was also buying guns, police seized about 100 from the location, body armor and non-perishable foodstuffs. The supplies were stored in an actual underground bunker.

Although the owners of the bingo hall, Robert Jones and Fred Kennedy, had a state license to run a bingo parlor, authorities claim that most of the money was coming from illegal eight-liners.

And while the raid on Paradise Bingo generated headlines throughout Houston, it's just the latest instance of elected officials trying to crack down on illegal gambling.

There are more than 200 illegal game rooms in Harris County alone, and that's not counting the bars, corner stores, gas stations and various other small businesses that have one or two eight-liners in the back.

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