Marion County Prosecutor Carl Brizzi says the people who ran Carnine Little League's bingo hall gambled away more than $760,000 meant for charity.

"The little league got thrown a curve ball, but this game is far from over," Brizzi said. "Money that should be used for balls, bats and uniforms is instead being spent on gambling debts and living expenses."

On Tuesday, Brizzi's office charged Thomas G. Smith, 60, and his daughter Christina F. Scott, 34, with corrupt business influence and three counts of theft. Each charge is a class C felony and carries a sentence of two to eight years in prison.

Smith, the league's president, and his wife, Joan Smith, said Tuesday they never stole from the group, but keeping track of the hundreds of thousands that came in through the bingo parlor overwhelmed them.

Scott, a secretary with no prior training in bookkeeping, said she was doing her best to balance the books but admits it was too much for her.

"When I was doing it, I was proud of myself," Scott said. "I thought I was doing a good job handling all that money. I guess I was wrong."

The group wanted to hire an accountant, but charity gaming rules say no one involved in a bingo operation can be paid.

The family says they put the bingo money back into the Little League. They fixed up the bingo parlor. They bought fences and maintained the park grounds. The youths have good equipment and professional-grade ball caps.

"I did some gambling, but I didn't do it on that money," Thomas Smith said. "It seems like they don't care to go into all the details."

Joan Smith, 60, won $50,000 in a malpractice settlement about two years ago. The family says they have used some of that money to visit riverboats and other bingo halls.

The records may be in bad shape, but Joan Smith said her husband and daughter are not criminals.

"It's a mistake, and it's going to be cleared up," she said. "When you get to court, the truth will come out. They're going to check the records."

The Smiths have been involved with Carnine Little League for about 30 years. About 400 youths make up the roughly 35 teams that play at Rhodius Park, 1720 W. Wilkins St.

Thomas Smith and Scott got a bingo license in 1997 and ran a parlor at 2930 Lafayette Road until it was shut down by the state in March 2002. Back then, the Department of Revenue fined Carnine Little League $8,500 for the group's sloppy record keeping and said Smith deposited bingo money into his personal checking account.

Prosecutors now say Smith and Scott stole $763,873 of the $1.9 million the league's bingo took in from 1999 to 2001.

Scott said she is devastated. She said she had a hard time Tuesday explaining to her 9-year-old son that Mommy may be sent to jail.

"I'm throwing up. I don't know what to do," Scott said. "I don't even get speeding tickets. This is a shock."

The family, Scott said, has nothing to show for the money prosecutors say was stolen.

"I'm getting ready to take my ex-husband to court over $100-a-week child support. We have nothing," she said. "Are we guilty of helping people? Yes, maybe too much.

"It wasn't all documented."

Call Star reporter Vic Ryckaert at 1-317-444-2750.

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