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Food Charity Head Gambled with Charity Money

"But to federal authorities, Adkins actually was Sam Alvin Ashley Jr., the man they believe is a fugitive con artist who preyed on the kindness of others to raise money he really used to support his lavish lifestyle and fuel his gambling addiction that squandered more than $1 million that was supposed to go to buy food for the poor.

"…Authorities believe that Ashley concocted an elaborate ruse that enabled him to cheat just about everyone he dealt with, from those he and his telemarketers solicited to banks that unwittingly paid for some of Ashley's alleged gambling to the Internal Revenue Service.

"Better Business Bureau records list SteveAdkins as president of the Ohio Community Emergency Food Center at 1400 State Ave. in Price Hill

"Those records note that the agency began in June 1991 — at about the same time Ashley became a federal fugitive wanted by the U.S. Secret Service on bad check charges — on Hamilton Avenue in Northside but moved to the Price Hill warehouse in November 1999.

"Initially, the agency bought $300 to $400 of food weekly, but in the last few years was spending only about $200 per month on food. The money — bank and bankruptcy records show he deposited $2.2 million into accounts from 1996 to 2000 — was used, prosecutors believe, on his severe gambling habits, for Las Vegas junkets and big salaries for himself and his girlfriend, Tina Swain, as agency president and vice president, respectively…"

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