HARRISBURG, Pa. — A former senior executive at national gaming company Pace-O-Matic has pleaded guilty to money laundering charges connected to a wide-ranging payoff scheme involving illegal gaming machines across Pennsylvania, state officials announced Tuesday.
Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday said Ricky Goodling, 59, of Mechanicsburg, pleaded guilty in Cumberland County Court to dealing in proceeds of unlawful activities, a first-degree felony. Goodling is scheduled to be sentenced on April 28.
Prosecutors said the crimes occurred while Goodling, a retired Pennsylvania State Police corporal, served as Pace-O-Matic’s Director of National Compliance, a position designed to ensure that distributors and machine operators followed state gaming laws.
Instead, investigators said Goodling accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars in payments from non-compliant gaming machine distributors and operators in exchange for ignoring violations and allowing illegal or improperly regulated machines to continue operating.
According to a joint investigation by the Pennsylvania State Police and the Office of Attorney General, the illicit payments were laundered through a fictitious company, Rest and Relaxation, LLC, which Goodling allegedly created to conceal the source of the funds.
“The defendant pleaded guilty to a very serious charge and took accountability for his conduct, which was fueled by personal greed,” Attorney General Sunday said. “His actions contributed to the disorganized and problematic environment in which these games exist in the Commonwealth.”
Authorities said the scheme weakened enforcement efforts in an already controversial and loosely regulated gaming market, allowing illegal machines to operate while Goodling personally profited.
The investigation involved the Pennsylvania State Police, the Office of Attorney General, and the Bureau of Liquor Control Enforcement.
Goodling also pleaded guilty Tuesday in federal court to tax-related charges stemming from the same conduct. Sentencing in the federal case will be scheduled at a later date.
The state case is being prosecuted by Senior Deputy Attorney General Erik Olsen and Chief Deputy Attorney General Adrian Shchuka.
