Pa. mayor gets first offender probation in numbers

sfgate.com | Oct 30th 2012

FAYETTE CITY, Pa. (AP) — The mayor of a tiny southwestern Pennsylvania borough will spend a year on probation as part of a first offender's program for allegedly taking "numbers" bets at a newsstand he owns.

Forty-six-year-old Herbert Vargo Jr., the mayor of Fayette City, maintains his innocence and did not have to plead guilty to enter the program Monday. His record will be expunged if he completes the probation without incident.

Fayette County prosecutors allege Vargo took his own bets on lottery numbers and paid out winners. State police say they found Vargo's gambling records and $59,300 in a lockbox under his bed, which they want a judge to make Vargo forfeit.

Vargo is contesting that, saying relatives gave him the money for his children's college education.

Fayette City has about 700 residents about 25 miles southeast of Pittsburgh.

Original Page: http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Pa-mayor-gets-first-offender-probation-in-numbers-3993076.php

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