Nevada gaming officials say the policeman and a Las Vegas dealer allegedly worked together to defraud a blackjack game.

A Torrance police officer caught on videotape allegedly cheating at a blackjack table in Las Vegas faces criminal charges that could cost him his career and send him to prison.

Edgar Zermeno, 33, worked in collusion with a dealer at the Stratosphere to earn about $1,000 during two nights of gambling, said Keith Copher, chief of enforcement for the Nevada Gaming Control Board.

The dealer, Edgar Lovinaria, 52, of Henderson, Nev., also was arrested. The officer and dealer's relationship was unclear, Copher said.

Pit bosses and security officers watching on surveillance televisions spotted the alleged cheating on May 5. The next night, they watched the dealer again. Zermeno arrived and sat at the table, Copher said.

"(Zermeno) was found to be working in collusion with a dealer," Copher said. "The dealer was exposing his hole card to him."

He was also allegedly paying even when Zermeno had a losing hand.

Security watched about 30 to 40 hands, all videotaped.

During each game, the dealer showed the player the hole card, Copher said.

"That way the player would know whether to take a hit," he said. "They were cheating. And then -- even in times that the player would lose -- the dealer would go ahead and pay as if he had won."

Hotel security called the Nevada Gaming Board, which handles gambling crimes at casinos. Agents arrived and arrested Zermeno and Lovinaria at Lovinaria's table.

Clark County prosecutors charged each man with two felony counts of conspiracy to cheat at gambling and two felony counts of cheating at gambling.

Zermeno and Lovinaria are scheduled for arraignment in Clark County District Court on June 6, Deputy District Attorney Brian Rutledge said.

Each count is punishable by one to six years in prison.

Copher said it was unclear what arrangement existed between the dealer and Zermeno to split the money.

"That's the normal process" in such cases of collusion, Copher said. "Sometimes (the dealer) will just get extra tips."

Gaming board agents notified Torrance police officials when they learned Zermeno's occupation.

Torrance police placed Zermeno, who is out on bail, on paid administrative leave.

"We have opened up our own internal affairs investigation to review the officer's conduct," Torrance police Lt. Brad Wilson said. "An investigation is in progress."

Zermeno was hired in May 2003 as a Torrance police officer following a stint with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.

Torrance police officials declined to talk specifically about Zermeno because of the officer's right to privacy.

"If a Torrance police officer is convicted of a felony, he would be terminated," Wilson said.

Nevada Gaming Board agents arrest 400 to 500 people a year for cheating at gambling in casinos. About 30 percent of the arrests involve casino employees, Copher said.

Attempts to contact Zermeno and Lovinaria were unsuccessful.