David Wells, a horse trainer and owner indicted late last year following an investigation at Penn National Race Course, will plead guilty to a misdemeanor charge in Dauphin County, according to federal court documents.
FOX43 has learned the U.S. Attorney’s Office has transferred the case out of federal court and filed a misdemeanor charge of “rigging a publicly exhibited contest” against Wells in Dauphin County. In a document filed October 9, Assistant U.S. Attorney William Behe writes, “…Wells will plead guilty to the state charges and cooperate with the United States. Thereafter the United States will move to dismiss the pending indictment.”
A federal grand jury indicted Wells and two other trainers last November. Wells faced charges of wire fraud and use of an interstate facility to promote gambling in violation of state law. Prosecutors alleged "for several years up to and including February 2012, (Wells) would routinely inject prohibited substances into horses he trained," according to a news release at the time.
Trainers Patricia Rogers and Sam Webb were also indicted in addition to a track employee, Danny Robertson.
In June, a federal judge dismissed the case against Webb after his lawyer argued there was a lack of evidence.
In a statement Monday, the U.S. Attorney's Office said:
"The David Wells matter and the related case of two other defendants have been turned over to the Dauphin County District Attorney’s Office because we concluded that it was appropriate to prosecute those cases in state court rather than federal court. Based on the facts the actions of the defendant were more readily applicable to state court proceedings especially in light of the previous ruling by the judge in the federal case. We note that one of the defendants did plead guilty in federal court. Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Behe, the prosecutor in the federal case, has been designated as a Special Assistant District Attorney for the purposes of the state court proceeding. We would also note that the federal investigation in regard to activities related to the race track is continuing. We have no further comment at this time."
Danny Robertson, a former clocker at Penn National, pleaded guilty in federal court to a wire fraud charge in July. Prosecutors say in exchange for cash he provided false workout times that bettors relied upon to place their bets.
Patricia Rogers' case also has been moved out of federal court and into Dauphin County court. She faces two misdemeanor charges including rigging publicly exhibited contest and attempting to rig a publicly exhibited contest. She's due in court again next month.
David Wells' attorney, Jerry Russo, noted Monday he and the prosecution are still working out details of a plea agreement. However, he said the potential punishment for Wells will be "less significant" than it could have been. Wells could face up to five years in prison on the state charge, according to court documents. By comparison, the federal wire fraud charges each trainer previously faced carried up to a 20-year prison penalty.
Russo said it is "in my client's interest to resolve this as quickly as possible." Wells is due in court again next month.
