The house has shown its hand in the long-running case of the Capitol Hill speakeasy, The Yard, and other illegal card rooms across the city. SeatleCrime reports that seven people including artist D.K. Pan are facing charges related to operation of the illegal card rooms:
D.K. Pan (Image: CHS)
In court records, prosecutors allege William James Donnell III, Rashaad Iman Thompson, DK Pan, James P Miller, Ian Michael McNamara, Brady Donoghue McGarry, and Howard Thoren Honeycutt managed or were employed as pitbosses, security, or poker dealers at card rooms in Capitol Hill, and in Ballard and Belltown between August 2007 and June 2009.
Additionally, police also allege that Pan, a local artist, set up the well-known Free Sheep Foundation art group as a front to raise funds for the illegal gambling operation.
In spring 2010, Pan was selected by Sound Transit to curate a 5-year program of art on the Capitol Hill light rail station construction wall. He’s the guy who chose the brick red color for the wall and fostered work like the massive 135-foot mural on the wall along 10th Ave.
When a SWAT team raided East Pike’s Winston Apartments building in June 2009, a three-year investigation into after-hours gambling spots and a related drug ring distributing cocaine and methamphetamine was revealed. At the center of “Operation Big Stick” were two underground card rooms including one on Capitol Hill operating out of the backside of the Winston building.
The player behind the illegal card rooms was Richard Wilson — known to all as Rick. People who played at his room say he was a businessman not a drug dealer but he got caught up in the business of Marshall Reinsch — and Reinsch’s Honduran drug connections — when Reinsch began gambling at Wilson’s clubs.
Wilson faced a roster of federal gun and drug charges in the case. He pleaded guilty last year.
CHS reported earlier this week that the Winston is currently for sale. Price: $4.6 million.
CHS past coverage:
- Initial post reporting on the card room bust – 6/11/09
- Culmination of the investigation with meeting between undercover cop and a leader of the ring and subsequent arrests (off the Hill at Joey in South Lake Union) – 6/12/09
- CHS receives a call from the Gambler – 6/12/09
- Richard Wilson and his card room(s) inspire a rap song – 6/16/09
- “Operation Big Slick” search warrant documents – 6/18/09
- Probable Cause document in U.S. v Richard Wilson:
…for the 10th Avenue mural.
How are these two things related? Is the artist Pan not doing a good job? Let him keep his job as curator. He is a well established performance artist and butoh dancer who has been active in the arts community for many years.
well, if he’s facing charges and ends up in jail, it may be hard for him to continue acting as curator.
This is pretty shocking – pan has been a very visible part of the arts community for years and years. And the Free Sheep Foundation has gotten plenty press. It’s hardly been some paper corporation.
Love how the source article mentions the Winston Building being for sale as though the building itself is somehow tainted by this situation. Which I don’t think it is.
Everything is related. You sound like one of those people who believe whatever happens in your personal life should have no bearing on your professional life. Welcome to 2011 and beyond.
Besides that, his performance as a curator for the light rail station has been poor.
Hey, Ultra — I identified Pan in this fashion because his work with Sound Transit is extremely visible and a big part of the Hill.
Sound Transit’s art program is pretty amazing. We’ll watch to see what impact, if any, this development has on the program.
I hope they throw the book at him. I won’t feel safe in this city until he is behind bars. People playing poker is dangerous and unacceptable. I’m glad the police are taking this seriously. Now I see why they don’t have time to investigate my car being stolen and I totally agree with the way they are prioritizing their work.
There were some great art shows, music events, and performance art in that space. Experimental, envelope-pushing, interesting. And yes, unpolished at times but the genetic markers of talent obvious.
Every cop involved in this bust has played poker for (gasp!) money with his/her friends.
This is as stupid as busting a stripper for giving too generous a lap dance.
Pete Holmes? Good opportunity here to step in and reclaim our tax dollars for more useful purposes.
It’s insane that police are busting card rooms when they are perfectly legal and accepted in nearby suburbs. It’s also silly how they imply that Pan’s art activities and foundation were simply some kind of front. How to account then for all the actual art he has produced? If an artist needs to run a secret gambling den to make a living, that’s fine with me.
Yes but it was with less than $5,000 in a 30-day period which is apparently not a threat to public safety.
Washington is one of the only, if not the only one, to have an outright ban on online poker. State senator Margarita Prentice (who is up for re-election soon) introduced the bill on behalf of the tribes – who believe online poker keeps people away from their brick and mortar casinos. More info http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/poker/columns/story?columnist
.
At least this provides some explanation as to why the curation of the Sound Transit wall has been so inexcusably terrible. Yes, there have been a few individual works of quality – but as a whole, the wall is a confused, disorganized, amateurish mess without a single sign of overall vision or any understanding of who/how the works will be viewed (by pedestrians? on which side of the street? by passing cars? from which approach? how does any of it relate to this big hole in the ground? did he even tell some of these artists that their works would be sitting outside in the rain?).
From what I can tell, Mr. Pan’s contribution so far has been:
1) paint the wall red
2) tell some artists to just go ahead and do whatever, wherever, whenever… who cares? the whole thing should take care of itself, right?
The charges against Pan stem from activities that occurred long before the current art wall project.
Then what is the reason behind the terrible curation? Fire him!