Barbar

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Pietras accepted a plea deal from the state, and prosecutors expect him to enter a guilty plea on Oct. 23 and be formally sentenced on Jan. 22, 2027.

Under the terms of the state’s offer, Pietras will admit to stealing his clients’ money for his personal use. In exchange for his admission, the state has recommended a prison sentence of 7.5 years instead of 15 years, followed by five years of probation.

According to the arrest warrant affidavit, law enforcement began investigating Pietras after an employee with a third-party company that assists funeral homes in managing and administering funeral contracts notified police about possible discrepancies at Pietras Family Funeral Homes in Coventry. Such funeral trust administrators partner with funeral homes to provide various programs, including trust funds, insurance policies, and escrow account management.

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Detectives noted that cellphone records show the pair traveled frequently throughout Central and Southern Illinois, and investigators are working to determine if they are connected to additional unsolved break-ins.

The arrests come amid a surge in burglaries targeting Illinois’ vast network of nearly 50,000 video gaming terminals.

Illinois Gaming Board data obtained earlier this year by the Chicago Sun-Times revealed that 502 gaming-related burglaries had been reported through June 22—already topping the 473 recorded during all of 2025. More than $1.5 million was stolen during the first half of 2026 across more than 100 municipalities.

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“They are currently aggressively growing the Hard Rock Casino brand, with developments under way in Las Vegas, New York City, Greece, Puerto Rico and Jamaica. They will put forth an attractive development proposal, and it appears that they now have the support of local government,” Klebanow notes.

As highlighted by Klebanow, Japan’s fragmented approach to gambling regulation may impact the development of Japan’s IR gambling industry, and Suzanne Perilloux Leckert, co-founding partner of Convergence Strategy Group somewhat agrees.

“Japan is acting cautiously, after observing missteps from other jurisdictions. They are proceeding in the way that best suits them,” she adds.