Rattlesnakes Used in Murder Plot to Recover Investment in Amateur Poker Tour
Wed, Aug 22nd, 2007

Two men have been arrested for allegedly using rattlesnakes in a plot to kill Matthew Sowash, owner of Amateur Poker Tour (APT) in Wheat Ridge, Colorado, USA, over $60,000 they claim Sowash owes them as part of an investment in the Texas Hold'em-style poker tournament business held in Denver area bars.


Herbert Beck, 56, and Lee Steelman, 34, are being held on bonds of $500,000 each, and have been charged with conspiracy to commit murder, conspiracy to commit kidnapping and extortion.

The plan was to build a wooden box to hold the rattlesnakes and ''the lid was to be built to allow Sowash's legs to be put inside but not pulled out,'' according to the affidavits.


Police said one of the suspects also wanted to kidnap Sowash's children and use them as leverage to get the money back.

Sowash contacted the Colorado Bureau of Investigation (CBI) after getting threatening e-mails, initiating the investigation that lead to the arrests.


Bob Myers of the Rattlesnake Museum in Albuquerque told KOB, a news station in New Mexico, that killing someone with rattlesnakes is comparable to trying to kill someone with a bb gun.


"The venom of a rattlesnake is relatively mild and does not usually cause a life threatening bite," said Myers.


Earlier this year, the Amateur Poker Tour had been in the news when the CBI raided the Tour offices to investigate the legality of the $199 fees charged to APT's VIP Gold members to participate in exclusive poker tournaments twice a month with stakes of $10,000 or more.