TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (AP): A former chief investigator with a western Indiana county's prosecutor's office has been charged for his alleged role in a gambling ring.

Seventy-one-year-old James J. Counterman of Terre Haute faces three counts of inducing an individual to commit professional gambling and three counts of official misconduct. He appeared Wednesday for an initial hearing on the charges in Vigo Superior Court.

The Tribune-Star reports the charges stem from allegations Counterman told operators of illegal poker games in Terre Haute that for a “price'' they would not be bothered by the law or prosecuted for illegal gaming activities.

Counterman had worked as a chief investigator in the Vigo County Prosecutor's office. He was fired in December by Prosecutor Terry Modesitt after Modesitt was provided with information about the gambling investigation.