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3 arrested in robbery of casino winnings

9/12/2006

Amherst police recovered a woman's casino winnings and arrested three Niagara Falls men who allegedly followed her home and robbed her early Monday.
Police charged Curtis D. Pugh, 23; Matthew Rimmen, 25; and Michael A. Rimmen, 30, with robbery, assault, burglary, conspiracy and criminal possession of stolen property.

A 55-year-old Sweetwood Drive woman told Amherst police that she won $4,925 playing video poker at Seneca Niagara Casino, then drove home.

When she had trouble closing her garage door, police said, she was confronted by three thieves. She put up a fight but was beaten with a rake and other tools in her garage. The three fled with her purse containing the winnings.

Officer Thomas Barillari, following the ambulance that took the woman to Millard Fillmore Suburban Hospital, Amherst, for treatment, stopped a vehicle for a traffic violation and found evidence linking the occupants to the crime.