Two gamblers have filed a lawsuit in Pennsylvania alleging that the Rivers Casino in Pittsburgh illegally snooped on their text messages, emails and financial information while they were playing in the casino.
The players, Julie Capone and Hayley Clerici, allege that Rivers employees used the property’s video surveillance equipment to zoom in on their mobile devices to read their private information, including texts and emails, and handed them over to a casino official they say had a “vendetta” against Clerici.
“Rivers Casino’s unlawful, zoom surveillance and zoom recording of (plaintiffs’) text messages, email communications and/or personal financial information were not only intentional but were also so outrageous as to constitute willful, wanton and reckless conduct, as well as complete disregard of rights and privacy,” the suit said.
They are seeking at least $35,000 in damages for each alleged violation of the law.
The suit claims that the casino gave the images and information to a local attorney who represented Clerici’s former husband in a custody dispute in Butler County Family Court, according to a report in Card Player magazine. The ex-husband is local police officer Scott Scherer. Dennis McCurdy was named as his attorney.
McCurdy is accused of unlawfully serving a subpoena to the casino to obtain its surveillance images of the women and their mobile devices. The suit claims that Rivers Casino should have been aware it was a sham subpoena under Pennsylvania Rules of Civil Procedure.
The suit alleged that Detective Scherer violated the Wiretap Act by illegally obtaining the text messages and emails and then disclosing them to “multiple persons.” The casino “likely” provided the requested surveillance of the women on a thumb drive, the suit claimed.
According to the suit’s allegations, the text messages the casino took photos of provided McCurdy and Scherer with information of Clerici’s “personal relationships” and “personal spending habits.”
An unnamed Rivers Casino security supervisor who allegedly authorized the wiretapping violations was also mentioned in the suit. The litigation said the name of that individual will be made public through the discovery process.
