CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Gamerooms are a topic that Coastal Bend law enforcement are well-versed in, but what happens to that money once a bust has been completed?
Nueces County Sheriff's Office Chief Deputy David Cook said that it depends on which agency handles the bust.
"Majority of the cases that Corpus Christi Police Department files is for illegal gambling," he said.
However, protocol is a bit different for Nueces County. Cook said they focus more on the illegal operation of a game room.
"Game rooms that we shut down are for violation of the ordinance, which means that they did not have a permit to operate the game room," he said.
In the case of CCPD, money that is seized can go toward the department to help with future operations.
"They are able to seize the funds under what's known as 'Chapter 59,' and they can take those funds and convert it to use for the police department," Cook said. "They put it in what's called a 'law enforcement trust fund.' "
He went on to say that for the sheriff's department, all money seized on sight is tagged for evidence with the intent always being for the owner to claim it. However, if that owner doesn't come forward there are still plans for the funds.
"That money will be declared abandoned but it will go into the county's general fund," he said.
Corpus Christi Police Department Narcotics and Vice Division Captain Samantha Baldwin said that due to the number of personnel she has on her team, deeper investigations can be conducted.
"I have 25 detectives that are essentially undercover detectives," Baldwin said. "At any one point I can put them undercover in any operations on any of those and they don't have that ability."
Despite those differences in man power, Baldwin said that partnership is crucial to cracking down on game rooms.
"They're hitting them in the city just as much as they are in the county, and we're working those back and forth," she said.