Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Indiana gaming commission continues cooperation with feds over former lawmaker's corruption plea

Jennifer Reske speaks to reporters in a government meeting room. Reske is a White woman with dark brown hair, wearing a floral print dress.
Brandon Smith
/
IPB News
Indiana Gaming Commission Deputy Director Jennifer Reske said the agency applauds the work of the U.S. Department of Justice fighting public corruption.

The Indiana Gaming Commission isn’t saying much about a former state lawmaker who pleaded guilty to federal corruption charges related to a former Indiana casino operator.

But it doesn’t seem like the federal investigation will impact the agency’s work.

Former state Rep. Sean Eberhart (R-Shelbyville) agreed to plead guilty to charges that he accepted promises of a job with Spectacle Gaming with a $350,000 salary in return for his support of a 2019 bill, HEA 1015.

Commission Deputy Director Jennifer Reske said it has been cooperating with the U.S. Department of Justice and will continue to do so.

“We very much admire the work of the Department of Justice and the things they’re doing — not only here but in other states — to fight public corruption and we’ll continue to be as supportive as we can,” Reske said.

READ MORE: Indiana legislative leaders rule out any gaming bills in 2024 session

Join the conversation and sign up for the Indiana Two-Way. Text "Indiana" to 73224. Your comments and questions in response to our weekly text help us find the answers you need on statewide issues, including our project Civically, Indiana.

Legislative leaders have ruled out any gaming bills in the 2024 session in the wake of the guilty plea. And Reske said the commission hasn’t identified any need, from its end, for legislation.

Brandon is our Statehouse bureau chief. Contact him at bsmith@ipbs.org or follow him on Twitter at @brandonjsmith5.

Tags
Brandon Smith has covered the Statehouse for Indiana Public Broadcasting for more than a decade, spanning three governors and a dozen legislative sessions. He's also the host of Indiana Week in Review, a weekly political and policy discussion program seen and heard across the state. He previously worked at KBIA in Columbia, Missouri and WSPY in Plano, Illinois. His first job in radio was in another state capitol - Jefferson City, Missouri - as a reporter for three stations around the Show-Me State.