BY TOM SOMACH

State police investigating illegal poker games in Binghamton, N.Y. were surprised by what they found–one of the poker players in the games is the son of the local district attorney!

According to news reports out of upstate New York, 24-year-old Michael Mollen, son of Broome County District Attorney Gerald F. Mollen, was one of the participants in an illegal poker game that was run from a Binghamton residence and was being investigated by state police.

The younger Mollen wasn’t charged with any crimes, as under New York state gambling laws, merely playing in an illegal poker game is not against the law, the news reports said.

However, those running the illegal card game, who were taking a “rake” from each pot, were charged, the reports said.

The elder Mollen, who has been the local d.a. for the past 20 years, released a statement to the media about the situation:

“With respect to my son, it is generally known by other participants in certain poker games under investigation that he was a participant. Accordingly, to eliminate any speculation that perhaps my concern about my son being identified as a participant may deter me or my office from appropriately pursuing the targets of this investigation, I have determined that the public interest requires me to publicly identify my son as a participant in these games.”

Because of the immense popularity of poker, which cuts across all lines of social strata, more and more stories like this are occurring.

Last month, police raided an illegal poker club in Jonesboro, Ga., and one of the poker players who was arrested was a local judge.

The month before, police raided an illegal poker club in Indianapolis, Ind., and one of the poker players who was arrested was an off-duty state cop.

(E-mail Tom Somach at tomsomach@yahoo.com.)