The owner of a politically connected company that has flooded the state with unregulated gaming devices faces illegal gambling charges in Adair County, in northern Missouri.

But Torch Electronics, owned by Wildwood businessman Steven Miltenberger, hasn’t given up on trying to influence Missouri politics in the wake of the charges, filed in March.

Torch on May 23 directed $240,000 to a network of political action committees tied to the company’s lobbyist, Steve Tilley, according to a review of Missouri Ethics Commission records.

The donations were the latest act of resistance by the company as law enforcement – most notably the Missouri State Highway Patrol – and a small group of state lawmakers attempt to encircle it.