CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- The former owner of Drummy's Bar and Grill in St. Albans was sentenced in federal court Tuesday to a year and a day in prison for his role in a gambling ring that stretched from Welch to Dunbar.

In August, Derrick Jay Drumheller, 48, admitted that he acted as a go-between for Welch pharmacist Saad Kamil Deeb and a bookie in Dunbar, sometimes placing as much as $50,000 per week in bets on behalf of his friend.

Deeb, who owns Citizen Pharmacy in Welch, pleaded guilty to conducting illegal bank transactions to hide his gambling activities in April. He also pleaded guilty to mail fraud and filing false tax returns, acknowledging that he skimmed hundreds of thousands of dollars from his pharmacy to bankroll his gambling.

Drumheller, who has described Deeb as a good friend, said that he never made any money for placing Deeb's bets. Sometimes, Deeb would send him a case of moonshine or take him to an expensive dinner, Drumheller said.

In his sentencing memorandum, defense attorney Jack Kessler asked U.S. District Judge John T. Copenhaver Jr. to consider probation and community service for Drumheller.

Public attitudes towards gambling have changed dramatically in the last few decades, and the government of West Virginia is now "deeply involved" with legalized gambling, Kessler wrote. Point spreads are published in local newspapers, and illegal sports betting is rampant, he said.

"Prior to the government's investigation of Drumheller and his co-defendants, Drumheller recognized that bookmaking was illegal but believed it was a widely tolerated illegal activity, the enforcement of which was lax to non-existent," the memorandum reads.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- The former owner of Drummy's Bar and Grill in St. Albans was sentenced in federal court Tuesday to a year and a day in prison for his role in a gambling ring that stretched from Welch to Dunbar.

In August, Derrick Jay Drumheller, 48, admitted that he acted as a go-between for Welch pharmacist Saad Kamil Deeb and a bookie in Dunbar, sometimes placing as much as $50,000 per week in bets on behalf of his friend.

Deeb, who owns Citizen Pharmacy in Welch, pleaded guilty to conducting illegal bank transactions to hide his gambling activities in April. He also pleaded guilty to mail fraud and filing false tax returns, acknowledging that he skimmed hundreds of thousands of dollars from his pharmacy to bankroll his gambling.

Drumheller, who has described Deeb as a good friend, said that he never made any money for placing Deeb's bets. Sometimes, Deeb would send him a case of moonshine or take him to an expensive dinner, Drumheller said.

In his sentencing memorandum, defense attorney Jack Kessler asked U.S. District Judge John T. Copenhaver Jr. to consider probation and community service for Drumheller.

Public attitudes towards gambling have changed dramatically in the last few decades, and the government of West Virginia is now "deeply involved" with legalized gambling, Kessler wrote. Point spreads are published in local newspapers, and illegal sports betting is rampant, he said.

"Prior to the government's investigation of Drumheller and his co-defendants, Drumheller recognized that bookmaking was illegal but believed it was a widely tolerated illegal activity, the enforcement of which was lax to non-existent," the memorandum reads.

Prison time would be appropriate if the government's goal is to begin waging a renewed war on illegal sports betting, Kessler argued. But if Drumheller was simply caught up in a routine federal investigation, then incarceration is inappropriate for his role as an unpaid middleman, Kessler said.

Cophenhaver sentenced Drumheller to one year and one day in prison, and ordered him to report by Feb. 20. He also fined Drumheller $10,000, which comes on top of $69,020.58 of unpaid taxes Drumheller has already paid. Drumheller has also agreed to forfeit $50,000 "in atonement for his gambling activities," according to Kessler.

According to an affidavit filed in January 2007 by IRS Special Agent Jason M. Baumgardner, several people admitted delivering brown paper bags of cash on Deeb's behalf to Drumheller at various locations, including the parking lot of the Golden Corral restaurant in Cross Lanes, the parking garage of the Marriott hotel in Charleston and the Lexus dealership in St. Albans.

In November, Jimmy Kemal Hazemey, a former state liquor inspector who admitted he placed illegal bets through Deeb, was sentenced to three years probation on tax evasion charges.

In August, days after Drumheller pleaded guilty, Deeb was placed on five years probation, with the first year to be spent on home confinement.

Reach Andrew Clevenger at acleven...@wvgazette.com or 304-348-1723.