INDIANAPOLIS — Former state Sen. Brent Waltz pleaded guilty on Monday to two felonies related to an FBI investigation into his role in receiving illegal campaign donations from a casino.
Waltz, 48, of Greenwood, pleaded guilty to making and receiving conduit contributions and to making false statements to the FBI, according to the Department of Justice. He faces up to five years in prison for each offense. He will be sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge James R. Sweeney II at a later date.
Waltz and casino executive and former state lawmaker John Keeler were both indicted in September 2020 as part of the investigation. A trial for Keeler is scheduled to begin on April 18.
Keeler, a former Republican state representative, was indicted on four counts connected to an alleged scheme to use straw donors to illegally funnel about $40,000 in casino money to Waltz’s unsuccessful 2016 campaign for the U.S. House. He has since been charged with additional counts of tax evasion.
The allegations against Waltz and Keeler led the Indiana Gaming Commission to begin an investigation that affected the construction of a casino in Terre Haute as well as the ownership of a casino in Gary.
The Gaming Commission forced Keeler and another top executive to give up their ownership stakes in the projects last year and eventually pulled the license for the Terre Haute casino away from the operators they had previously been involved with.
Keeler, 72, was formerly vice president of Indianapolis-based Spectacle Entertainment LLC, which owned and operated the Majestic Star Casino in Gary. Spectacle was acquired by Hard Rock International last year. Keeler has pleaded not guilty to his charges.
The initial indictments against Waltz and Keeler were related to an earlier investigation that became public in January 2020 when Republican strategist Chip O’Neil, a vice president at Strategic Campaign Group, pleaded guilty to conspiracy in federal court in Virginia. He admitted to helping collect donations from small donors in the names of candidates who never received the money.
