A manager at the shuttered Il Villagio continues to be held without bond nearly a week after her arrest in connection with the illegal gaming operation.
Barbara Buzzard, 67, of Spruce Creek South in Summerfield, was transferred Tuesday morning from the Marion County Jail to the Sumter County Detention Center. She is facing charges of fraud, money laundering and gambling stemming from her employment at Il Villagio on U.S. Hwy. 441 in Sumter County.
Her arrest follows 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. Buzzard was arrested last week. Also arrested this past week was her former co-worker, 69-year-old Terence Duane Morgan of Ocala. Morgan is currently free on $27,000 bond.
A Village of Pine Ridge resident, writing in an Opinion piece, recently decried the arrests of Buzzard and Morgan. The Villager said Il Villagio offered a clean, friendly environment for local seniors, who regularly ate meals there while playing the slot machines…