Parx surveillance cameras recorded Vargas parking the Explorer at 10:16 p.m., with the two kids and his dog inside, then entering the casino alone. At 10:26, video footage shows Vargas leaving. He was met at his car by a casino security guard and three Bensalem police cars.
"I walked out to a world that I couldn't believe I was walking into," he said last week. "I couldn't believe things could change that quickly in 10 minutes."
According to Vargas and the Parx police report, the boys were taken to the Bensalem police station for questioning: Had their father been drinking? Did he gamble often? How long were they in the car? Then they were placed into their grandfather's custody.
Vargas spent the night in a holding cell. He was charged with two counts of endangering the welfare of children and driving with a suspended license from a past DUI offense. If found guilty, he faced the possibility of 21/2 to 5 years in jail for each count of child endangerment, which stunned him.
"I felt like that was what they gave you for beating your kids," he said. "And the bail - $250,000 - was ridiculously high. It wasn't even bail. It was like ransom.
"My kids were so upset. It was traumatizing for them to be taken by police . . . and they saw their dad on TV," Vargas said Monday, as he walked his pet pit bull with his wife, Rosalynn, and their two sons outside their Bensalem condominium - less than two miles from Parx.
A construction worker, Vargas remained in jail for more than two months, waiting for his bail to be lowered - first to $25,000, then $10,000. Ultimately, he agreed to plead guilty to disorderly conduct and waive his preliminary hearing. He served an additional 90 days on the DUI/license suspension, court records show.
