Power Brokers: PA Gaming Control Board and Local/ State Politics
Philly Activist Arrested Found Not Guilty 1.22.06 The 14 Philadelphians arrested last month for attempting to search the offices of the Gaming Board for casino planning documents were found not guilty of disorderly conduct today by a Harrisburg judge. In explaining his decision, District Justice Joseph Solomon took the state agency to task for its lack of openness and unwillingness to serve the public.
Solomon told Paul Mauro, the lone Board employee who testified at the trial, "I can't imagine what documents your agency has up there that require a prior appointment, approval and an escort to get to that information. The only conclusion I can come to is that you're not working for the citizens of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania."
Crossroads is preparing for their public presentation Dec. 13. They need to counter the truth that the community does not want them here. To do that they are asking Straban, The County Commissioners and the Borough Council to give them a "letter of intent" saying these three will share the money that comes to the County if a casino is licensed.
Both Straban Township and two of the County Commissioners have signed this, although its only purpose is helpful advertising for Crossroads.
Letter from Marty Qually to all Borough Residents: On Monday December the 11th at 7:30 at 59 East High Street the Borough Council of Gettysburg will be discussing the "Letter of Intent" approved by two (2) of the County Commissioners to be sent to the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board . I encourage ALL Borough citizens to attend this meeting. It is important that Borough citizens be a part of this process. This is an open meeting and Borough citizens must be provided an opportunity to speak.
Up until last week only a few council members were aware of the extent and nature of the negotiations between the President of the Borough Council, two (2) County Commissioners, Straban Township, and Crossroads.
Show that the citizens of Gettysburg would only support an agreement after the PGCB has made their licensing decision.
Show the Borough Council that the citizens want more deliberation and that Council decision making process should not be shortened.
As I stated publicly, when the council discussed supporting the casino, the Borough Council side stepped it's own process of committee based deliberation in order to support a Corporate entity. The committee process is the most important avenue for citizen's to voice their concerns to the council. Do not let back room negotiations carry more weight than public comment.
"Of the people, by the people, for the people"...
Respectfully,
Marty Qually Gettysburg Borough Council, Ward 1
From Susan:
Borough Council will naturally be excited about 2.5 million instead of 1, and even about letting LeVan off the hook for the 1 million. At least Carolyn Smith, Bill Monohan and Ted Streeter will be excited about that. If there is a tie Mayor Troxell will go with these 3.
I’m bothered that the Borough Council is not following its well crafted democratic process, but is rushing this, bypassing both committee and public input. (How can the public have input on something they haven't seen?). I think there are other Council members, even some who voted for the $million bribe before, who may be bothered by this failure to follow normal process, and by the sense that this is a "back room deal".
The document hasn't been released to the public, and since it is being rushed, according to Tom Weaver in yesterday's paper, simply to help Crossroads at their Dec 13 hearing, it becomes a question of our democracy.
Who owns council? Why would Council sign something that is simply an advertisement for Silver Point, a secretive corporate money store in Greenwich CT, which is a 75% owner of Crossroads? And if the Council is doing advertising for Crossroads, they ought to negotiate a fee for this free advertising!
Bottom line, this should go to the finance committee or some other committee and be postponed until after Dec20.
If you own property in the Borough, or live in the Borough, you can attend this meeting Monday night , 12/11 at 7:30.
If you live in the borough, you can also send a polite e-mail to all Council members by sending one to Administrator Sara Stull who will forward to all council members.
"They're trying to put ten pounds of manure in a five pound bag"
- Edward Gillespie, Acting zoning hearing board chairman
October 12, 2006 ,Gettysburg Times by John Messeder
In spite of misgivings about its effect on surrounding roads, the Straban Township Zoning
Hearing Board Wednesday night granted a proposed 5,000 slotmachine casino a special exception.
“We can now take proof to the Gaming Control Board that the
area is zoned for this purpose,” said David LeVan, a Gettysburg area businessman and CEO of the proposed Crossroads Gaming Resort and Spa.
The decision ended four months of sometimes heated debate over whether the township should allow the casino to be built in the northeast quadrant of the U.S. 15/30 interchange, within a mile of the Gettysburg National
Military Park and in the middle of a growing commercial district.
The area is in a Commercial Highwayzone, but the zoning ordinance, enacted a dozen years before slot machine gambling was legalized in the Commonwealth, made no provision for the use.
In announcing their decision, ZHB members Edward Gillespie
and Kenneth Bigham decried the lack of consideration given by the Crossroads’ traffic study to the network of small roads surrounding the project.
They noted the township zoning ordinance calls for a traffic
study of all roads within two miles of a large project such as the casino and spa comples. Instead, the township traffic engineering firm of McMahon Associates limited
the traffic impact study to the immediate Route 30 area, eliminating from consideration all surrounding roads.
“They’re trying to put 10 pounds of manure in a five-pound
bag,” Gillespie said, adding, “They were given the criteria by somebody other than us, and we can’t overrule that.”
The board did attach 10 conditions to the plan....
After the hearing, LeVan called the conditions “fair and we can live with.”
He said his next task will be to prepare for a Dec. 5 hearing before the state Gaming Control Board, where Crossroads’ project is one of five, in three areas, vying for two available Category 2 gaming licenses. The board has said it plans to issue licenses by Dec. 20.
LeVan said once the license and appropriate permits are in hand, the project will be constructed in three phases. The casino and related restaurants and parking facilities would be completed within 18-24 months, followed next by a 225-room four-star hotel, and then a 30,000-squarefoot spa.
“They did the right thing,” Supervisor Jay McDannell said
after the meeting. “They followed the law, and that’s what we plan on doing the whole way through our process.”
Sharon Hamm, co-chair of Concerned Citizens of Straban
Township, said she was “extremely disappointed in the township” for its decision to ask for a traffic study only along Route 30.
She said she had “no problem” with the township supervisors’
decision to remain unbiased in its public discussion of the project, but said, “it was not unbiased to overlook something that was required in the (township zoning) ordinance.” ...
Ten Reasons for OUR CONFIDENCE that the PGCB will reject the Gettysburg Casino Dec 20, 2006
1. A Wall Street analyst says odds against the Pa Gaming Control Board licensing a Gettysburg casino are 99-1 (Brian McGill, Susquehanna Financial) 2. Senator Vincent Fumo, architect of the PA Casino bill, calls the Gettysburg site, “obnoxious”. He explained that there are two reasons it won’t be licensed: 3. It is “the least revenue producing in the state” A casino in the Poconos would earn 8x that of a Gettysburg location 4. and there is too much opposition, esp. as measured by PGCB own process. 86% of the testimony over three PGCB hearings was against the casino! This is overwhelming opposition and under their rules, gives the PGCB one major reason to reject this proposal! 5. 2 of the PGCB are appointed by the PA HOUSE: 3/14/06 Pa House of Representatives unanimously reject Gettysburg Casino 199-0 6. 2 of the PGCB are appointed by the Senate PA Majority Leader, Senator David Bright bill says: “There is a strong bipartisan consensus in the Senate that a casino in Gettysburg is a really dumb idea.” Opposed by Brightbill, Jubilierer, Fumo, Piccola 7. 3 of the PGCB members are appointed by the Governor. 9/15/05, Statement of Governor Ed Rendell on PCN live call in show " I wouldn't want it anywhere close to the historic area of Gettysburg... near a place that, because of its history and its heritage, attracts families to visit. Because you don't want to have young children see a casino next to a great historic shrine.” Re-iterated 12/29/05 and on 1/6/06, when he said he is “absolutely opposed”. 8. Opposed by National Politicians with Connections: Santorum, Spector, Congessman Frank Wolf, Newt Gingrich and others in positions of major influence who wish to remain anonymous UNLESS the PGCB licenses Crossroads. 9. Opposed by five NATIONAL groups with a wide network of influence, ALL of whom have testified to the PGCB, and who are working against the casino. They just lost Morgan Stanley as a 75% owner, and were picked up at a late date by Goldman Sachs as "damaged goods". 10. No Casino Gettysburg has vowed to immediately appeal any license to Crossroads. Under act 71, an appeal of the PGCB goes directly to the State Supreme Court. We are saying we will not stop our opposition even if the casino is licensed. This guaranteed delay for slots profits would give the PGCB pause.
Dan Moul won his seat in the Pa House of Representatives, Adams County, on the Republican ticket against Pat Naugle. Hewas endorsed by Pro Casino Adams County, and Pro Casino credited his primary election to his pro-casino stance. Click here for his photo with LeVan on primary election night, May 16, 2006. http://eveningsun.mycapture.com/mycapture/enlarge.asp?userphoto=&image=12133470
Moul met with LeVan for two hours after deciding to run. Later he found his alliance with Pro Casino a detriment to him. He told voters individually recently he is "neutral on the casino" but is for LeVan's right to build whatever he wants on his property. (Property rights over community well-being?) Now he says the photo of him and LeVan was a trick and LeVan was "20 feet away from him". On 11/6/06 he was quoted in the Gettysburg Times as saying "The guy from the casino just happened to be there. He is not a supporter of mine." He told one voter the casino should be "five miles down the road." Maybe in McSherrystown or Littlestown?
We congratulate Dan Moul on his victory and hope he will grow to fit the needs of the office.
Candidates issueing statements AGAINST THE Gettysburg CASINO who won election Nov 6:
Ed Rendell, Steve Nickol, Todd Platts
Rep. Steve Maitland introduced an amendment to SB 862 that prevents a casino from being licensed in Adams County PA . It passed the House unanimously. On 9/26/06 the senate removed the ban without voting on it. This also removes any hope that Crossroads will get compensation for what they've spent on the application. (Senator Terry Punt did NOT support the bill.) http://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/legis/home/find.cfm
A statewide poll by Mason Dison Polling of PA voters finds, as a Gettysburg Times headline says: "Incumbents Could Suffer if Casino Built Near Battlefield." The poll found 2/3 of Pa voters against a casino, and 56% who would hold Rendell and legislators responsible if the casino were built here. The public is awakening!
LeVan and Caroline Smith 7/8/06
Caroline Smith is a Borough Council Member and was Chair of the Chamber of Commerce. After the Chamber voted to remain neutral 2/06, she orchestrated the March Chamber Board's 7-6 vote to support the casino. Concerned members protested. She resigned as Chairman the day a Chamber membership poll disappointed her by showing 68.75% of valid votes OPPOSE the pro-casino stance, opting for either a neutral or no-casino stance. Her second in command, Kelly Dilts, the parliamentarian who declared the original Board vote to remain neutral, null and void, took over as Chairman, and the Board then ignored their members wishes, re-affirming a pro-casino stance. The Chamber Board counts LeVan as more important than the 130 members who asked them to take a different position.
Straban Zoning Board 7/17/06 (Zoning board attorney Clayton Wilcox, Members Ed Gillespie and Ken Bigham) listen as Crossroads presents their plans. Crossroads attorney Jeff Ernico challenged Gillespie and member Marcia Kammerer in court saying they were biased. After 2 hearings, (expensive for Straban) Judge George removed Kammerer, leaving the remaining two to make the decision on Crossroads zoning. Crossroads has played hardball with these unpaid civil servants,so much so thatthe entire Straban Planning Commission recused themselves. The ZHB also didn't have support of the Supervisors to do what they thought right, so on 10/11/06, the ZHB gave Crossroads its special exception.
Gettysburg Borough Council, 4/3/06 sold its 4/5/06 testimony, by a 6-3 vote, in support of the casino before the PGCB. The Council had not seen the agreement when they did this, they testified, and then saw the agreement. They weren't happy, and on 8/14/06 Councilman Dick Peterson blamed the poor agreement on "the world's worst lawyering on the part of Crossroads attorney", a reference to Jeff Ernico. Nevertheless, on 8/14/06 the Borough agreed to sign, this time with a 5-4 vote. Sticking points: not a gift at all, but "a grant", it requires the Council agree this is best for Adams. As Councilmen Dick Peterson said 7/19, "We're not in the advertising business." Second, the promised million requires Council to get the $$$ from the County, Straban Township, or the State first, so Chance is hoping they won't have to pay anything. Third, there's no inflator on the amount, and Chance refuses to tie the million to the Consumer Price Index, so that the amount will become smaller and smaller as time goes on. Three Council heroes: John Murphy, Dick Peterson, Marty Qually, voted against it April 3, and on Aug 14 Bob Miller also voted "No".
Straban Zoning Board listens to Crossroads
Citizen protests Borough Council-Chance Agreement
Straban Planning Commission Gives Chance the Silent Treatment
6/28/06 Straban Planning Commission meeting. Crossroads was about 5th on the agenda....they were requesting an extension because they had delayed the zoning hearing by questioning the bias of two of three zoning commissione members. They also questioned the bias of one planning commission member.
As you all saw in the paper, Riley Redding, after being questioned about bias by Crossroads (after 32 years of service to the township), resigned yesterday.
LeVan, Ernico and two lawyers laden with big charts, etc., came in and sat down before the meeting started. As we worked our way down to the Crossroads part of the agenda, the lawyers were all set to go with some sort of presentation. But guess what? Starting with the woman on the commission, Barbara something, don't know her name, made a statement to LeVan et al that if Riley Redding was considered to be biased, then she was, too, and she was recusing herself from considering their case. Then, one by one, Bob McIlhenny was next and he was brutal.....said he also was recusing himself, and that Chance couldn't have it both ways. They wanted him to be unbiased, but why were they sending him mailings? Then the rest of the commission, ending with the chair, recused themselves.
Total silence.
Then a motion was called for, and not one of them would make a motion.
Ernico got up and went into this statement about how he had never said this or that, blah blah. Silence. Chair moved the meeting on to the next item on the agenda.
LeVan got up and walked out. Ernico followed him. Two other lawyers gathered up easels, packets, all their paraphernalia, walked out, too.
Governor Rendell has stated 3 times on live TV that "I don't think that gaming should be in places that have great heritage and great history. I wouldn't want it anywhere close to the historic area of Gettysburg." and said he is "absolutely" opposed to the Gettysburg proposal.
Please write the Governor and thank him for recognizing the importance of Gettysburg, and for speaking out against a casino so near historic Gettysburg!
The House of Representatives voted unanimously against having a casino in Gettysburg. This amendment ot SB862 is now in Sen Brightbills Committee. Call your Senator.
We do feel that our lobbying is paying off, and that most government officials and legislators are saying No Casino Gettysburg. We know this particular battle is being won, but we won't stop until this vampirish idea is dead, autopsied, and buried with a stake through the heart.
In the State Capital, we get lots of broad smiles and soft asides of "I agree with you".
Read the law, Act 71, by clicking the link above. Key provisions, up to 61,000 slots across PA, Category 2 casinos must be 30 miles from a racetrack with over 200 racing days a year, and at least 20 miles apart from other race tracks and other casinos, except in Philadelphia. The casinos start with a minimum of 1500 slots, up to 3000, and then within 6 months can go up to the max of 5000. The Gettysburg casino hopes to start at 3000 and move to 5000.
Reading this law, we are reminded of General Lee's comment on Northern politicians: "Why don't they just go away and leave us all alone?"
Please visit Democracy Rising to see what you can do to put ethics and integrity back into state government.
To stop a Casino located in Gettysburg, we must convince the Gaming Control Board to vote NO on Adams County as a location.Our goal is a UNANIMOUS vote by the PGCB soundly rejecting this stupid idea! The appointed Board is independent and there is no formal role for members of the Senate or House, or any other elected official, local, state, or national to influence the Board. However, these individuals on the Board are human and can be influenced by the enormity of the protest they will hear statewide and nationally. Those politicians who want to avoid making a statement about how THEY feel/ think on this issue typically send a form letter back saying that they have no influence.
Could this have anything to do with the provision in Act 71 that legislators and government officials can legally own up to a 1% share of a casino development without that share ever being known to the public? The agreement never even needs to be more than a private statement of understanding! (1% is MUCH MORE $$ than would be owned without ones knowledge in a mutual fund or other diversified investment portfolio.)
We believe that there has been so much national attention to this issue that many politicians don't want to touch it. They know it would be political suicide to come out in support of a casino near Gettysburg, but it will definitely be political suicide NOT to come out against it. If they say a casino is the wrong kind of business for Gettysburg, that opens up the question of what makes it a bad business, and thus opens up the whole issue of the exploitive nature of the casino business. So lots of them are just stuck.
There was never a vote on bringing gaming to Pennsylvania, and there is no popular movement calling for it. However, gaming proponents have been working on bills for 30 years. The current law, Act 71, began as a 14 line bill about security checks fo race track employees. Overnight the bill was transformed into a 143 page bill establishing gambling in PA. The additional 142 pages were written by Senator Vincent Fumo (an attorney) and attorneys for the Gaming industry and introduced and passed at 2 AM over the July 4th weekend, 2004. This is all about who is contributing to whose campaign. We need to let all these politicians know that elections are coming up, and they are vulnerable. They have money and muscle, but we have people, lots of people, people who will remember next year what they did--or didn't do--about the casino.
The PGCB will hold a public meeting in Adams County to measure local opposition on April 5, 2006.
Each of these politicians needs to come out publicly and state where they personally stand on this issue.
Please write directly to the following. It's great if you can also let us know you wrote, but don't worry if you haven't the time to do that. If you can write a personal letter in an envelope that holds extra weight, but e-mail gets there too. If answered, letters to the PGCB are answered by their Communications head, Nicholas Hayes.
Their meetings are OPEN TO THE PUBLIC but you are not allowed to speak or ask questions. We like to go to the meetings in our No Casino T-Shirts. The meetings are also televised live on cable channels.See their website for dates of their public meetings. Join uson the meeting days and for lobbying the same day. It's fun and we are learning a lot about how government is supposed to work and how it actually works. Usually reporters talk to us after the PGCB meeting, and we distribute updated fact sheets that day.
VOTING MEMBERS-
1. Thomas "Tad" Decker (Chairman) Appointed Chairman of the Gaming Board for a three-year term by Governor Edward G. Rendell. (One petiton is directed to Chairman Tad Decker, and another to Governor Rendell) 2. Mary DiGiacomo Colins Appointed by Governor Rendell for a one-year term. 3. Sanford Rivers- Appointed by Governor Rendell for a two-year term. 4. William P. Conaboy resigned 3/24 after nephew dropped girlfriend out of window 23 stories up. Appointed to the Gaming Board by Sen. Mellow for a two-year term 5. Jeffrey W. Coy-- civil war buff Appointed to the Gaming Board by Rep. H. William DeWeese--civil war buff, the House Democratic Leader, for a two-year term. 6. Kenneth T. McCabe Appointed to the Gaming Board by Senate President Pro Tempore Robert C. Jubelirer for a two-year term. (One petition is directed to Jubelirer ) 7. Joseph W. "Chip" Marshall III Appointed to the Gaming Board by Speaker of the House of Representatives John Perzel for a two-year term. (One petition is directed to Perzel )
NON-VOTING MEMBERS ( Ex-Officio Members)
1. Gregory C. Fajt By statute, the Secretary of Revenue is an ex-officio member of the Gaming Board. 2. Dennis Wolff By statute, the Secretary of Agriculture is an ex-officio member of the Gaming Board. 3. Robert P. Casey Jr. By statute, the state Treasurer is an ex-officio member of the Gaming Board.
Write to Governor Rendell:
No Casino Gettysburg has gotten the attention of the Governor. He has stated his opposition to a casino near a historic site like the Liberty Bell or the Gettysburg Battlefield. (The site is 1 mile from East Cavalry Field.) We've been told he does read e-mails and letters on this subject, though he always refers them on to the PGCB. Remember he and Chance President are good friends, and Rendell received at least $40,000 in campaign contributions from LeVan. Rendell thinks his friend is wrong. As we lobby, we hear that both in the Governor's office and the Legislature, people in public office consider it "political suicide" to be for a casino in Gettysburg. The statewide and national outcry is too great.
Friends don't let friends drive drunk, and friends don't let friends get into bad investments. On 9/15 the governor made a public statement about his own feelings about Gettysburg, so the people and his friends can know where he stands. He said he does not approve a casino sited near the historic district of Gettysburg! Please express your THANKS to the Governor, write, e-mail or call as soon as possible, so he'll know he made a good decison in coming out against the plan.:
Governor Edward G. Rendell 225 Main Capitol Building Harrisburg, PA 17120
Political Candidates, Office Holders and Activists Who have Opposed the Casino in Gettysburg.
No Casino Gettysburg definitely wants to encourage all candidates to make a statement regarding preservation of our historic resources. On the other hand, No Casino will not endorse any particular candidate. Our hope is EVERY candidate will speak out against this outrage. So we will publicize the candidates position, but not the candidate except as he/she is publicized along with their position. We will not ever endorse any candidate for election, but our supporters will definitely be looking at this list to see if a particular candidate has opposed the Gettysburg casino!
The Adams County Green Party candidates: http://adamscountygreens.org/index.php
Candidate Marty Qually won a seat on Gettysburg borough council this November.
see related story below this on how legislators can have a 1% interest in casino companies!
Sunday, August 21, 2005
By Mark Belko, Ed Blazina and Jerome L. Sherman, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Groups and individuals with an interest in securing a state license for a slot machine casino in Pittsburgh have pumped hundreds of thousands of dollars into the campaigns of key state and local politicians during the past four years, with $137,550 coming after the gambling law was passed in 2004.
Gov. Ed Rendell has received $147,688 since 2002 from members of the development family that owns Station Square, a potential casino site. Since the gambling law was passed, he also has returned $15,000 from a license candidate.He and other politicians who have received contributions from potential applicants say the donations will have no impact on who gets the lucrative license, which will be awarded by a state board appointed by Rendell and top legislative leaders.
And those who have given say it was done with good government in mind, not the slots license.
But one critic of slots in Pennsylvania said it was no surprise to him that developers interested in building casinos are filling the coffers of top state, county and city politicians.
"This issue was never about economic development. This issue is about special interests, who have been paying our governor and our legislators for years to accomplish their goal, which is to get slot machines in Pennsylvania," said Evan Stoddard, vice president of the anti-gambling group No Dice and associate dean of liberal arts at Duquesne University.
Under the state law legalizing slot machines, applicants for the license for the Pittsburgh casino and 13 others to be awarded throughout the state will be barred from making contributions to political candidates, political committees, state parties or groups affiliated with them.
Until applications are filed, however, potential operators are free to give as they see fit to any candidate or elected official in Pennsylvania.
Rendell gave back $10,000 he received in June from a political action committee controlled by 84 Lumber Co. owner Joe Hardy, who is interested in securing one of two resort licenses available statewide for his Nemacolin Woodlands resort in Fayette County.
At the time, a Rendell spokeswoman said the governor wanted to avoid "a cloud of suspicion that is often associated with campaign donations."
Rendell also decided Friday to return another $5,000 donation from Hardy's political committee after it was brought to his attention by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
But since the law was passed, he has accepted $4,500 from a member of the family interested in building a casino at Station Square, and $2,000 from a principal at Seven Springs Mountain Resort, which also is interested in a slots license.
Since 2002, groups or individuals who have been identified as potential applicants for or potential investors in the Pittsburgh casino or the resort casino have contributed $465,570 to the campaigns of Rendell; state legislative leaders John Perzel, Robert Jubelirer, Robert Mellow, and H. William DeWeese; Allegheny County Chief Executive Dan Onorato; and Democratic mayoral candidate Bob O'Connor, according to a Post-Gazette analysis.
The total increases to $562,923 with contributions to the state Republican and Democratic parties and state House and Senate campaign committees.
Rendell has long supported slots gambling in Pennsylvania and he appointed three of the seven members of the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board, which will award licenses for the Pittsburgh casino and other slots venues throughout the state. Perzel, Jubelirer, Mellow and DeWeese each appointed one member to the board.
The decision to award a license is not based on simple majority vote; all of the legislators' appointees and at least one of Rendell's must agree.
Onorato and O'Connor, the heavy favorite to become Pittsburgh's next mayor, will have no direct role in awarding the casino license. But the state Gaming Control Board has said it will take into account the views of local leaders and the community in choosing an operator.
Those identified as likely competitors for the one license available in Pittsburgh are the Pittsburgh Penguins; Forest City Enterprises, the Station Square owner teaming with Harrah's Entertainment Inc.; Alco Parking operator Merrill Stabile; MTR Gaming, the owner of Mountaineer Race Track and Resort in Chester, W.Va.; and Beaver County developer Charles Betters, who wants to include a casino development he has proposed in the city's Hays neighborhood that would include a race track, housing and shopping. Gateway Clipper fleet owner John Connelly, who owns a St. Louis riverboat casino, also is said to be interested in the Pittsburgh casino, though his attorney has repeatedly denied that. ...
Edson "Ted" Arneault, MTR Gaming chief executive officer, $41,250, including $16,000 to Rendell, $7,000 to Perzel, $5,250 to O'Connor and $5,000 to Onorato...
Merrill Stabile, who hopes to build a casino on the North Shore near PNC Park, and John Brabender, a spokesman for MTR Gaming and Arneault, said the contributions had nothing to do with slots. They said they were made on the basis of who they thought would do the best job governing.
Brabender pointed out that the license would be awarded by Gaming Control Board members, not the governor or other politicians. Arneault, he said, is interested in assisting "any local official who is doing a good job."
"His contributions are made very much by looking at the individuals who seem to have the best interests of the community and the state" at heart, he said.
He added he believes the license will be awarded based on the casino proposal that is best for the region, not on the basis of campaign contributions.
Rendell's spokeswoman, Kate Philips, said the January contribution of $4,500 from Michael Ratner was accepted because Ratner is a New York attorney who has no interest in gambling. She said the donation was unsolicited.
"If he were to have any interest in gaming, we would return the donation promptly," she said.
She added, "I don't believe that just because someone is related to someone they're trying to garner influence, particularly in a case like this."
She also said Rendell was unaware of the interest of Seven Springs in a resort license, especially since the contribution came in two weeks after the law was passed.
Philips said it was no surprise Rendell received election support from those interested in gambling licenses since he was a pro-gambling candidate but noted those contributions were a small portion of more than $40 million he received for his 2002 campaign. Rendell has set "a high standard" of not accepting money from those sources since the law was approved, she said, and there are "good reasons for his standards," but she wouldn't comment on others taking money from those interested in slots licenses.
"The governor is certain [other elected officials] will stay within the letter of the law as far as accepting contributions," she said.
Others who have received contributions also say the money will have no impact on who receives slots licenses.
Perzel, the Republican state House speaker from Philadelphia, was on vacation and unavailable for comment, said his press secretary Beth Williams. She stressed Perzel has "total faith" in his appointee to the licensing board, Joseph Marshall, former head of the state Ethics Commission.
"The speaker himself has no direct say in who gets a slots license. That's decided by an independent board," Williams said. Williams wouldn't comment on whether it was appropriate for Perzel to accept $34,500 in contributions from those interested in gambling licenses in this area since the law was passed in July 2004.
David Atkinson, an aide to Senate President Pro Tem Robert Jubelirer, R-Altoona, stressed that Jubelirer was one of the Legislature's staunchest opponents of gambling. He received a $2,300 contribution from Hardy Aug. 27, after the gaming bill was approved.
"[Jubelirer's] opinion would be that we don't need slots gambling," Atkinson said. "There is not any possibility Sen. Jubelirer would accept contributions to favor one operator over another. They must be contributing for some other reason because the whole planet knows he's against gambling."
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Saturday, July 24, 2004
Omaha World-Herald Slams PA Legislature Over Casino Ownership
Check out this must-read Omaha World-Herald editorial:
The Pennsylvania Legislature abandoned propriety recently when it passed a casino gambling law that will permit lawmakers and other state and local officials to buy into gambling operations.
If that's not an inducement to corruption, it is at least an open door to the appearance of corruption. The law would permit up to 61,000 slot machines in 14 casinos at racetracks, resorts and similar places around the state. Those casinos are expected to wring about $30 billion a year from gamblers' wallets and purses.
Under the new law, which could face revision this fall if the political fallout contaminates its supporters, officials could own as much as 1 percent of a casino or casino company. State Rep. Richard Geist, an opponent of the gambling law, estimated, for instance, the arrangement would permit an investment of as much as $13.3 million in racetrack owner Penn National Gaming, which is worth $1.33 billion.
It's hard to overemphasize the evils of connections between elected officials and gambling money. Officials in Missouri, Kentucky, Arizona and Louisiana have been forced out of office or already convicted in response to gambling-related corruption.
The gambling industry aggressively uses political contributions to influence not only votes on gambling amendments but also who is elected to state and congressional offices. One important reason for that is that the industry is rarely satisfied with the laws it operates under. It continually pushes for more gambling, more venues, more license.
In Iowa, what started out as family-oriented, low-stakes riverboat gambling has morphed into full-fledged, usually stationary gambling parlors, some of which are only technically floating on water.
The first thing the state got rid of was the original $5-per-bet limit.
Allowing investment - Nevada, for instance, has no limit - would merely add another potential layer of profit available to elected officials friendly to the gambling industry. Gambling expert Bill Thomp- son, a professor at the University of Nevada at Las Vegas, suggested Pennsylvania reconsider allowing investment unless it wanted to become like Nevada, where "there's no question the casinos own the politicians."
One opponent in the Pennsylvania Legislature cited the potential "windfall" for lawmaker-investors when the casinos start up. Another said his constituents are saying that "this is an open door for a potential quid pro quo."
Nebraska has no limit at all, which makes its potential windfall 100 times greater in terms of the percentage for mayors, county commissioners, state senators and other officials who are so ardently doing the casinos' work.
The discussion in Pennsylvania serves up a timely warning. Nebraska needs to consider very carefully all the possible results of a pro-casino vote.
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This is a year old, have they made any amendments to this law, in PA, since all the uproar over it's constitutionality? No, over a year later the law still stands!!
