Two more suspects have been arrested in a gaming operation that preyed on elderly residents.
Barbara Buzzard, 67, of Spruce Creek South in Summerfield, and Terence Duane Morgan, 69, of Ocala, were arrested Thursday on Sumter County warrants charging them with numerous crimes, including money laundering, for their activities while employed at Il Villagio on U.S. Hwy. 441 in the Sumter County portion of Lady Lake.
Buzzard was arrested by Marion County sheriff’s deputies and was being held without bond at the Marion County Jail. Morgan was taken into custody at the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office Annex at County Road 466 and Morse Boulevard. He was being held on $270,000 bond at the Sumter County Detention Center.
Their arrests follow the apprehension of 45-year-old Rima Ray, chief executive officer of Il Villagio, who was nabbed in July in St. Johns County while driving a Maserati with nearly $350,000 in cash. Ray, who is identified legally as a woman but has facial hair like a man, is currently free on $50,500 bond. She was forced to surrender her passport.
An agent with the Florida Gaming Commission entered Il Villagio in April alongside The Villages Public Safety Department as part of a fake fire mitigation exercise. The ruse allowed the agent to see the 200 slot machines in the establishment.
“Several patrons were actively gambling,” according to an affidavit…