Gambling dad, granddad plea to reduced charges

Two men who left children alone in vehicles while they gambled inside Bensalem's Parx Casino pleaded guilty to reduced charges this afternoon in Bucks County Court.

Paul Vargas, 34, of Bensalem, pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct for leaving his 12- and 7-year-old children in his SUV with a pit bull puppy while he played blackjack Aug. 25 inside the casino. The children were left alone for about 10 minutes between 10 p.m. and 10:30 p.m., authorities said.

Alexander Salter, 60, of Trenton, also pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct for leaving his 12-year-old grandson in his car for about a half-hour on the afternoon of Sept. 2.

The cases were among nine such incidents reported at the casino from June 15 through Oct. 11, and the first two to be resolved in court.

Judge Albert J. Cepparulo sentenced Vargas to three months probation for the crime, and ordered him to complete a parenting class, "as you are in dire need of learning how to raise kids in this day and age."

Vargas also pleaded guilty to driving that night while his license was suspended and with a blood alcohol content of .02 percent or greater. The judge sentenced the construction worker to 90 days in the Bucks County prison and a $1,000 fine for that crime.

Finally, in a separate case, Vargas pleaded guilty to a drug possession charge and was sentenced to serve an additional two to 23 months in the county prison.

Salter was sentenced to 90 days of probation and 25 hours of community service. Cepparulo suggested that he might serve the hours at Parx, helping to keep other adults from leaving children in the parking lot.

Both men had initially been charged with the more serious crime of endangering the welfare of children. Assistant District Attorney Blake Jackman said that the charges were reduced to disorderly conduct in part because the children had been left for a relatively short amount of time and it would have been difficult to convict the men of the more severe charge.