Former Ada County sheriff, known for slot-machine seizure and scuba team, dies
A former Ada County sheriff, who gained notoriety when he seized more than 100 slot machines and 30 bottles of illegal whiskey from a Boise warehouse has died.
Myron Gilbert, 89, died Monday, Ada County Sheriff Stephen Bartlett said in an email to current and retired sheriff’s office personnel.
“Gilbert served three terms as sheriff from January 1959 to January 1965 during a period of significant growth in both staff and technology,” Bartlett said. “He, along with Deputy Bill Jones, created the first law enforcement scuba dive team in Idaho.”
Bartlett said he has been in contact with Gilbert’s family and they appreciate the support shown for the former sheriff. There are no plans for a funeral or viewing, but if that changes, Bartlett said a public announcement will be made.
Gilbert spent six years as an officer with the Boise Police Department before being elected sheriff in 1958. In 1964, the year of the slot-machine bust, he was defeated in the Republican primary by Paul Bright, who went on to be elected sheriff that fall.
He later served as a bail bondsman, car salesman, owner of a sign shop in Garden City and health-products salesman.
In 1973, Sheriff E.C. “Chuck” Palmer hired Gilbert to serve as director of operations for the patrol and detective divisions.
“In the six years as sheriff, I have seen the office grow from a country store-type operation into the most efficient and modern sheriff’s office in the state of Idaho,” Gilbert told the Statesman while running for re-election in 1964.
The slot machines were discovered in the basement of a building at 1625 W. Bannock St., which most recently was the home of Downtown Dental before the business moved to the BoDo district.
Gilbert received a tip about the slot machines and the whiskey. The whiskey was illegal, because the bottles lacked Idaho tax stamps. He obtained a warrant from Charles Donaldson, a justice of the peace later elected to the Idaho Supreme Court.
“It was not known, Gilbert said, whether the slot machines were a hangover from the days when such items were legal in Idaho or whether they were transported into Idaho at some time from other states,” the Idaho Statesman reported on July 3, 1964.
The whiskey, Gilbert said, “appeared to have reached a state of deterioration instead of improving with age.”
It was unclear who owned the seized items. The building was owned by the estate of a Boise woman who had died.
Slot machines were outlawed in Idaho on Jan. 1, 1954.
Gilbert also served as the track announcer at Meridian Speedway and was the head of security at Bogus Basin ski resort.
Gilbert filed in 2015 to run for Boise mayor but later dropped out of the race.
This story was originally published November 4, 2020 at 12:24 PM.
