By Todd Northrop
A former Ohio Lottery Commission employee has been sentenced to probation for stealing $115,000 in instant lottery tickets and cashing in winners.
David Dragelevich, 40, was sentenced Monday morning by a Mahoning County judge to five years probation and will have to pay restitution after pleading guilty to theft back in August.
An Ohio Inspector General's office report released last May said Dragelevich would keep tickets returned from an unidentified retailer, then enter in a lottery database that they'd been resold and cash out winning tickets. The report says Dragelevich told State Highway Patrol investigators he cashed some tickets on his own and with accomplices.
Prosecutors say the theft occurred while Dragelevich was employed as Regional Sales Representative at the Ohio Lottery's North Canton office.
The 40-year-old man from the Youngstown suburb of Poland resigned from the lottery in January 2014.
Authorities say the scheme was uncovered after a supervisor found scratched-off instant tickets in his state-issued van.
DUMB Dumb got probation!!!. Where is the justice?.
What's even more disturbing is that he might have gotten away with this scheme even longer if he wasn't a SLOB ... What is the world coming to???
No wonder why Ohio Lottery is hard to win...to many crooks
Dummy stole 115k and was probably making 90k.
Have fun in Prison.
Yield not to temptation. American greed. If you can't be good be careful.
He needs a job to pay restitution
Ok how do you not go to prison for GRAND LARCENY. The Judge that gave out probation should have to serve time for this crime. this is why this country has so much crime.
He committed fraud as an employee of the lottery, and stole over $100K. Was the judge paid off in lottery tickets given that he sentenced him to just probation? This judge needs to be investigated as this is SO WRONG.
Five years PROBATION??? Way to keep the public trusting the Ohio Lottery you maroon of a judge.
You may have missed the part of the article that said the thief got probation, not prison. What nonsense.
Wonder if his record will conveniently be expunged after the five year probation? My bet is it will.