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Former Lowell officer convicted in gambling case

E-mail|Link|Comments () June 19, 2009 06:24 PM

By Stewart Bishop, Globe Correspondent

A former Lowell police officer was ordered to pay a $12,000 fine after being convicted of extortion and gambling charges this morning, the Middlesex district attorney's office said.

David Annis, 33, of Dracut gambled on sports events through a Westford bookmaker, amassing a $5,000 debt, prosecutors said. When the bookmaker tried to collect, Annis showed the man his badge and falsely implied he was investigating gambling cases, prosecutors said.

"David Annis not only participated in illegal gambling activity while a Lowell police officer, but also used his position to intimidate and manipulate others," District Attorney Gerry Leone said in a statement. "The defendant violated the trust instilled in him by the citizens of Lowell."

Leone had requested that Annis be sentenced to three to four years in state prison, followed by three years of probation, but Middlesex Superior Court Judge Elizabeth Donovan sentenced him to pay the fine instead.

Annis told the bookmaker after identifying himself as a police officer that "things could go smoothly for him" and then never paid his gambling debt, prosecutors said.

Annis was also convicted during a bench trial of the misdemeanors of unauthorized access to a computer system and unlawfully obtaining criminal record information, which prosecutors said he used to scare off the bookmaker.

Annis began gambling on sporting events in August 2007 and threatened the bookmaker in September. He was indicted in June 2008. The bookmaker, described as the victim by prosecutors, cooperated with the investigation and was not charged.