Prosecutor follows up links between the gambling bill and the Pruszków gang

Police have found 260 gambling machines, worth almost zł. 1.2 million, in the outskirts of Warsaw, which were stolen by the Pruszków gang from towns cities located on the coast. The gang extorted money from companies controlling the machines, and even managed to take over one of these companies. When the gangsters found out they were close to being caught by the Central Investigation Bureau (CBŚ) they transferred the stolen machines to Konik Stary near Warsaw. The prosecutor is currently investigating how much of the truth is in their bragging that they were collecting money to secure a beneficial gambling bill. The machines were owned by a company called Fun Invest registered in the Dutch Antilles. They were leased to several Polish companies. For two years, companies from Gdańsk, Gdynia and Sopot have been paying the gangsters zł. 50,000 a month, in 2001 this sum fell to zł. 25,000. According to Gdańsk prosecutors without interviewing the Pruszków gangsters who stole the machines, it is impossible to close the investigation relating to accusations of corruption over the gambling bill. (Gazeta Wyborcza, p. 19) A.K.