The night before the first lottery he rigged, a $4.8 million jackpot in Colorado, Eddie stayed late in his messy, computer-filled office.
艾迪第一次操纵的彩票是科罗拉多州的480万美元的头奖,在前一天晚上,他在脏乱的、满是电脑的办公室呆到很晚。
He set a test computer to run the program over and over again and wrote down all the potential winning numbers on a yellow legal pad.
他设置了一台测试计算机来反复测试那个程序,把所有潜在的中奖号码都记在了一个标准拍纸簿上面。
The next day, November 23, 2005, he handed the pad to his brother, who was headed to Colorado on a trip.
第二天,2005年11月23日,他把拍纸簿传给了他的弟弟,后者正要去科罗拉多州旅行。
"These numbers have a good chance of winning based on my analysis," he said. "Play them. Play them all."
他说,“基于我的分析,这些号码有很大的中奖概率,把所有的号码都买了。”
On a clear summer day in Des Moines last year, Eddie Tipton, who was then 54, trudged up the stairs of the Polk County Courthouse.
去年,在得梅因一个晴朗的夏日,当时54岁的艾迪·蒂普顿步履艰难地走上波尔克县法院的楼梯。
His hands were shoved in his pockets, his head down.
他双手插在口袋里,低着头。
He had accepted a plea deal for masterminding the massive lottery scam—one count of ongoing criminal conduct,
他接受了一项策划大规模彩票诈骗的认罪协议-一个持续进行的犯罪行为的指控,
part of a package deal that gave his brother only 75 days. Eddie was here for his sentencing.
这是只判了他弟弟75天监禁的一揽子交易的一部分。艾迪在这里接受宣判。
In statements to prosecutors, he painted himself as a kind of coding Robin Hood, stealing from the lottery and helping people in need:
在对检察官的声明中,他把自己描绘成某种编码罗宾汉,从彩票中偷钱,帮助有需要的人:
his brother, who had five daughters; his friend who'd just gotten engaged. "I didn't really need the money," Eddie said.
他弟弟有五个女儿;他刚订婚的朋友。艾迪说,“我并不真的需要钱。”
The judge noted that Eddie seemed to rationalize his actions—that he didn't think it was necessarily illegal,
法官注意到艾迪似乎在为自己的行为辩解——他不认为这一定是违法的,
just taking advantage of a hole in the system, sort of like counting cards at a casino.
只是利用了系统中的漏洞,有点像在赌场里数牌。
The judge sentenced Eddie to a maximum of 25 years in prison.
法官判处埃迪最多25年监禁。
The brothers' restitution to the various state lotteries came to $2.2 million, even though,
兄弟俩对各州彩票的赔偿总计达220万美元,尽管如此,
according to his attorney, Eddie himself pocketed only around $350,000.
据艾迪的律师称,艾迪只拿了大约35万美元的奖金。
Sand expects Eddie to be released on parole within seven years.
桑德认为艾迪能在七年内假释出狱。
Reflecting on the case, the prosecutor says he felt a deep intellectual satisfaction in solving the puzzle:
在对此案的回顾中,这位检察官表示,在解开这个谜题时,他感到一种深深的智力上的满足:
"The justice system at its best is really about a search for truth."
“司法系统最好的情况就是寻求真相。”