Ongoing Investigation into Heroin Sales Leads to Another Arrest

Peru and Ottawa police are serious in their investigation into heroin sales in the two cities, and an Ottawa man won’t be forgetting that any time soon.

Just before one o’clock Wednesday afternoon Marco Verucchi was arrested by the Peru Special Investigations Unit and Ottawa Police Narcotics Unit. They say Verucchi delivered heroin in Peru last month to undercover cops, resulting in a felony charge.

His trouble didn’t end there. At the time of his arrest, Verucchi was allegedly in possession of heroin, which is another felony.

He’s being held at the LaSalle County Jail. His bond for the first charge was set at $500,000, which will be added to his bond for the possession charge.

City, State, Federal Police Work Together To Arrest Ottawa Man For Pipe Bomb, Other Explosives

An Ottawa man has been arrested after allegedly making and using illegal explosives.

A number of law enforcement agencies worked in concert to arrest Richard Knott at his Illinois Avenue address Tuesday.

Knott was charged with one count of unlawful use of a weapon because police believe he possessed a pipe bomb that had more than a quarter-ounce of explosives in it.

A search of Knott’s Ottawa home led to several more “potentially explosive devices and substances” according to the Department of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms and the Kane County Bomb Squad.

Knott had a second address in Troy Grove. It was also searched after police got information that more explosives could be located there.

While more charges are possible for Knott, for now he’s been taken to LaSalle County Jail where he’s being held on $250,000 bond.

Early voting kicks off in Bureau County

If you live in Bureau County and have been chomping at the bit to vote, Wednesday is your lucky day.

Early voting started Wednesday morning at the courthouse in Princeton. The hours are from 8 until 4, Monday thru Friday. Remember to leave your cellphone at home since the Bureau County courthouse is now cellphone free.

If you have patience, you can cast an early vote starting February 29th in Spring Valley at City Hall.

Big pot bust near the Interstate 80 and 39 interchange

The next pot bust on Interstate 80 can come at anytime, day or night.

Just before one Wednesday morning, a La Salle officer pulled over a car at the I-80 and Interstate 39 interchange. After allegedly seeing some drug paraphernalia in plain sight, officers looked in the trunk and allegedly found 20 pounds of pot.

The driver, Daniel Swall and his passenger Adam Crabtree both of Pennsylvania were arrested for unlawful possession of cannabis with the intent to deliver. Both guys were taken to the Ottawa jail.

Despite some push back, video gaming provided extra revenue for cities

While some city council’s talk about limiting the number of video gaming parlors, the fact is the more gamblers lose, the more cash the city receives.

Even for small villages like Naplate and Utica, video gaming losses mean thousands of dollars of revenue. Cities and villages get five percent of the net income, or the difference between money gambled and won.

Ottawa’s take of the pot was $224,000 in 2015. Streator brought in $211,000 from gaming revenues. Both La Salle and Peru collected $156,000 in video gaming losses last year while Princeton just barely topped a thousand. Utica and Naplate’s take of gaming losses in 2015 were just under $50,000.

The state gets 25 percent of gaming losses with establishments housing the machines and companies owning the slot machines getting the rest of the pot.