Poker Murder Plot Update

Poker Murder Plot Update

Wednesday, 10 October 2007

In what is one of the more harrowing stories to have come out of the poker world, the former owner of the Amateur Poker Tour in the USA found himself the target of a murder plot by an investor to whom he owed money.

In what is one of the more harrowing stories to have come out of the poker world, the former owner of the Amateur Poker Tour in the USA found himself the target of a murder plot by an investor to whom he owed money. Matt Sowash is alleged to have owed Herbert Paul Beck $60,000. Beck had loaned Sowash $36,000 last December and wanted to collect that amount plus the interest which he deemed had accrued.
Beck then turned to Christopher Steelman to threaten Sowash, which lead Sowash to go to the Colorado Bureau of Investigation.
Steelman’s initial charges of conspiracy to commit murder and kidnapping were dropped, but he is still in line to face charges of extortion.
The man doing the threatening, Christopher Steelman, recently had the charges against him reduced, with conspiracy to commit murder and kidnapping charges dropped. Steelman had allegedly threatened to have Sowash terrorized using rattlesnakes, with Beck and Steelman said to be planning to build a wooden box to hold the snakes with holes in the lid for Sowash’s legs. Beck was also alleged to want to kidnap Sowash’s children as leverage for the debt to be repaid.
The Amateur Poker Tour arranged Texas Hold’em tournaments in bars around Denver, and was itself under investigation by the Colorado Bureau of Investigation.



Tags: Poker News, Poker, Murder, Plot, Update