“Obradovich: Gaming money talks, but not in unison - Des Moines Register” plus 1 more

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Obradovich: Gaming money talks, but not in unison - Des Moines Register Posted: 11 Apr 2010 06:15 AM PDT Anti-gambling forces are drawing attention to some campaign contributions to Gov. Chet Culver in an effort to stir up public opposition to the approval of four new casino licenses. Culver made waves last month by sending a letter to the Racing and Gaming Commission, asking it to approve the four new casino license applications from Ottumwa, Fort Dodge, Lyon County and Tama. Those are the four communities where voters have already agreed to allow gambling. Mitch Henry of No Casino Iowa found about $200,000 in Culver's 2009 campaign finance report that can be linked to gaming interests. Another anti-gambling advocate argues that the May 13 decision on new licenses should be postponed until after Culver's next campaign finance report is due, because he may have received more gaming money. Henry, a Democrat, says he's not trying to suggest that Culver shouldn't be re-elected. He is, however, trying to make the point that the contributions are aimed at encouraging Culver to increase gambling in Iowa. It's worth looking more closely at this claim, because we're going to see plenty of variations of it throughout the 2010 campaigns. It illustrates the pitfalls in trying to assign motives based on campaign donations. Culver, when asked about it recently, dismissed the notion on the grounds that the gaming-related donations were only a small fraction of his overall campaign. Other candidates have also accepted gaming-related donations, he said. These groups support his agenda to move Iowa forward, he added. His response was flawed, at best. Instead of arguing that he can't be bought, he suggests that he's not so cheap. That can't be what he intended to convey. Here's a better argument: Gaming-related donors don't necessarily support more casinos. Gerald Kirke, chairman and CEO of Wild Rose Casinos, for example, gave $25,000 in 2009. But he is not advocating for any of the new casino licenses. Wild Rose has expressed concerns about the Fort Dodge application. Kirke, like most of the people who gave campaign contributions, has many other interests. His donation was unrelated to gambling, according to a spokeswoman. It stems from his membership in a bipartisan group of business and community leaders. Culver also received $12,500 from the Sac & Fox Tribe. It operates the Meskwaki Bingo Casino Hotel, which would compete with a new Tama casino. Those are just a couple examples. Culver received some donations from folks expressly advocating for one or more casinos. But would he be influenced by them? He was already on record from his 2006 campaign that he favored licenses for places like Ottumwa, where there is strong citizen support for gaming. Henry acknowledges some gaming-related donors have other interests. That doesn't change his conviction that the gaming industry has a lot of money to spend influencing politicians. Can't argue with that. There are plenty of good reasons for gaming commissioners to be cautious about adding four casino licenses in Iowa. Just a few: the soft economy, the competition with existing operations, and the potential for increased gambling addiction. Opponents would be better off to focus on those than to distract Iowans with overly broad assumptions about the governor's motives. Political columnist Kathie Obradovich can be reached at (515) 284-8126 or kobradov@dmreg.com. You can follow her on Twitter at twitter.com/kobradovich. For more Obradovich columns, blogs and tweets, visit www.dmregister.com/Obradovich. Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.

AG Seeks to Block Casino Funds Settlement - Inside INdiana Business (press release) Posted: 11 Apr 2010 01:38 PM PDT Press Release Indianapolis, Ind. -- Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller today officially objected to a deal that would settle a lawsuit between East Chicago and a for-profit company that reaped millions of dollars in casino money. Zoeller took legal action to prevent the settlement between the city administration and East Chicago Second Century Inc. from taking effect. For the Mayor of East Chicago to file this settlement after the City Council already rejected it smacks of emboldened arrogance and should not stand, Zoeller said. By circumventing the very ratification process that they themselves instituted, the Mayor and his administration have defied both the elected council representatives and the public. I have moved to undo the Mayors actions, Zoeller said. The Indiana Attorney Generals Office and the City have been plaintiffs in a long-running lawsuit against Second Century Inc. to require the for-profit company to account for $16 million in casino revenue it received from the East Chicago riverboat casino over 10 years since the for-profit companys creation during former Mayor Robert Pastricks administration. Even though the casino revenue was intended to benefit the people of East Chicago, Second Century thus far has refused to name publicly who received the grants it dispensed or to divulge how the money was used. Approximately $8 million to $10 million remains in escrow. When information surfaced this winter that current Mayor George Pabey intended to settle the lawsuit with Second Century and end the litigation in exchange for a payout to the city, Zoeller personally attended a meeting of the East Chicago City Council on February 22 and urged council members to reject the deal. The council deadlocked 4-4 at that meeting. When the council members voted on ratifying the settlement proposal again March 3, they conclusively defeated it 5-4. That settlement would have released the funds in escrow, with 54 percent going to the city administration and 46 percent to Second Centurys owners, with the casinos 0.75 percent revenue stream going to the city in the future. But it would have included no accounting of how casino revenue has been spent so far, and no requirement for any transparency going forward. Despite the council previously rejecting that settlement, the Pabey administration and Second Century jointly filed a notice in the lawsuit Tuesday with the Marion County Superior Court, purporting to dismiss the citys claims against Second Century without the councils approval. The State of Indiana is also a plaintiff in the Citys lawsuit against Second Century, yet my office was not consulted about this purported settlement, I certainly did not agree to it and I am asking the court to reconsider and reject it, Zoeller said. The Mayor and his allies appear unconcerned that millions of dollars originally intended to benefit city residents instead would be paid out as a wholly undeserved jackpot to Second Century, if this settlement went through. The Court granted the dismissal Thursday before the State had the opportunity to object. Zoeller today filed an objection and a motion asking the Court to vacate its ruling, since the State of Indianas claims remain alive. Residents of East Chicago deserve better than the Mayors behind-closed-doors, backroom deal with a dubious for-profit interest that further erodes public trust, the Attorney General said. Under current law, in communities with riverboat casinos a Local Development Agreement (LDA) must be set up in order for gaming revenue to flow directly from a casino to a for-profit or non-profit corporation. Although LDAs exist in some other riverboat communities, Second Century was the only for-profit company in Indiana to receive casino dollars under an LDA arrangement. In other communities, the LDA groups are nonprofits that receive casino revenue and redistribute it. The Attorney Generals effort to require Second Century to open its books is part of a larger investigation into public corruption in East Chicago. Last June, in the Attorney Generals separate RICO lawsuit over the $24 million sidewalks-for-votes fraud, a federal court entered a judgment finding that the East Chicago city government under former Mayor Pastrick was a corrupt organization under federal racketeering laws. The court entered a judgment against Pastrick and former mayoral aide James Fife III on every count the state alleged. On March 11, a federal court ordered Pastrick, Fife and former city councilman Frank Kollintzas to pay more than $108 million in treble damages in the history-making federal racketeering lawsuit filed by the Attorney General over the 1999 sidewalks-for-votes scheme. The State of Indiana sued Second Century to pry open the books of that Pastrick-created entity and show publicly how it spent casino dollars that were supposed to be used for the publics benefit, which for years Second Century has refused to do. If Second Century really wants to resolve the litigation against it, then it ought to provide a full, thorough and unobstructed accounting of how it has spent every dime, Zoeller said. Separately, Pabey is indicted on a federal corruption charges and awaits trial. Source: Office of Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.

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