ADRIAN, MI – Five people from Jackson and Lenawee counties are accused of felony offenses for their part in an “extensive sports betting ring” centered at a Tecumseh flooring store, Attorney General Bill Schuette announced in a Wednesday statement.

Schuette filed charges Jan. 29 in Lenawee County District Court against the alleged orchestrator Kevin Andrew O’Connor, 55, of Adrian, who owns O’Connor & Sons Flooring, 2920 W. Russell Road, in Tecumseh. He is accused of running the sports betting operation for more than 15 years, accepting wagers made over the phone and on parlay cards for college and professional football games and college basketball games.

The operation is alleged to have involved dozens of bettors from Lenawee County and northern Ohio, according to the statement.

James Johnson and Gregory Worker

“You can bet that profits from illegal gambling often trigger related crimes that undermine public safety,” Schuette said in the statement and thanked the work of Lenawee County law enforcement and the Michigan State Police for their assistance. “We will continue to work aggressively to shut down any illegal gambling operations we may uncover.”

The attorney general also charged four others who allegedly assisted O’Connor. They include Deborah Kay Johnson, 62, of Tecumseh; James Melvin Johnson, 68, of Jackson; Thomas Allen Demlow, 57, of Adrian; and Gregory Todd Worker, 48, of Onsted.

Demlow allowed O’Connor to rent space at his home in Adrian to field phone bets and allegedly “gave out lines” on upcoming games to bettors and fielded phone bets, according to the attorney general statement.

Worker is accused of routinely betting hundreds of dollars on events through O’Connor and, at least once, accepted betting debts owed to O’Connor from another phone bettor.

O’Connor is charged with five felonies, including the conducting of and conspiring to conduct a criminal enterprise. Both are felonies punishable by a maximum of 20 years in prison and a $100,000 fine, the attorney general reported.

Deborah and James Johnson are charged with the conspiracy offense and three other felonies, including one count of aiding and abetting the distributing of cards that were intended to be used to violate the Michigan Gaming Control Act, a felony with a top penalty of 10 years in prison and a $100,000 fine.

Deborah Johnson, James Johnson, O’Connor and Demlow further are charged with failing to file a tax return or filing a false tax return.

Demlow is charged with three felonies, including the conspiracy offense, and Worker is charged with aiding and abetting the conducting of a gambling operation, punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a $100,000 fine, and a misdemeanor betting crime.

Schuette has issued “freeze warrants” on some of the defendants’ bank accounts.