3 Columbia-area Men Sentenced in Federal Gambling Case

Three Midlands men were sentenced Tuesday for their roles in a Columbia-area gambling operation, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Columbia announced.

Lanny Ray Gunter II, 42, of Chapin, was sentenced to five months in prison, to be followed by five months home confinement, for his role in an illegal Columbia-area gambling operation. Gunter also was ordered to pay a $10,000 fine. 

Harry Bruce Benenhaley, 66, of Columbia, and Ronald Dale Spence, 61, of Irmo, were both sentenced to five years probation, including six months of home confinement. They are both ordered to pay $2,000 in fines.  

All three men pleaded guilty to running the gambling operation last October. 

The pleas came after a federal investigation into the alleged sports bookie operation ran by . 

In an Associated Press report, prosecuters said Gunter had loaned $5,000 to Parker to start his own bookie business.

All three men operated a sports gambling business in the Columbia area between 2006 and 2012, according to evidence presented at a change of plea hearing.

Authorities said Gunter supervised the business, provided financing when necessary, and directed the web operation. Benenhaley oversaw the day-to-day operations at Gunter's direction, which included answering phones and verifying information on the gambling web sites used by the organization. 

Spence ran his own gambling operation that eventually merged into and shared profits with Gunter and Benenhaley, authorities said.

The three men used an Irmo-area business to drop off and pick up gambling proceeds, according to a release.     

Authorities said the primary betting activity happened during football and basketball seasons, but also included baseball more recently.  The business had 30 to 35 regular clients and 20 to 30 "spot" players.        

The case was investigated by agents of the United States Secret Service and investigators from the Richland County Sheriff’s Department.