Indictments issued after OH Internet cafe raids

CLEVELAND (AP) - A grand jury in Cleveland has indicted 11 people and eight companies that prosecutors say were involved in illegal gambling at Internet cafes.

The indictments Thursday issued by the Cuyahoga (ky-uh-HOH'-guh) County grand jury follow raids the previous day at six storefront Internet cafes amid a new statewide push to prosecute what officials say are illegal gambling operations.

County prosecutor Timothy McGinty said several of the defendants and companies named in the indictment are part of a multi-state Internet gambling syndicate controlled by a computer server in New Jersey.

The Ohio House passed a bill to crack down on Internet cafes late last year but it failed to gain traction in the Senate. The House passed a new proposal in March that is pending in a Senate committee.

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