Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Council Chairman, Michael Thomas received a Pennsylvania gaming license, even though he had a felony conviction in Rhode Island in 1988.
Thomas was convicted on the charge of manufacturing or delivering a controlled substance. Police after stopping Thomas's car found 13 packages of cocaine, from one (1) to three and a half (3 1/2) grams in size, under the seat in his car. Thomas served nine (9) months of an eighteen (18) month sentence and was put on probation until 1994.
Sometime after ten (10) years after the serving his sentence, Thomas had his record exspunged. Under Rhode Island law, when a court record is expunged,it is removed from the federal criminal records database. When asked about the conviction, the person no longer has to disclose the conviction when asked.
Thomas (as well as other Mashantuckets) was issued a gaming license from Pennsylvania to manage and operate a casino in Philadelphia. The Mashantucket Pequots will own thirty (30%) percent of the casino and manage it. The major investor is Washington Philadelphia Investors which will own seventy (70%) percent.
The investigation of the gaming licenses in Pennsylvania is done by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board. State legislators feel that the investigations should be done by the State Police or the Attorney General.
Doug Harbach, Director of Communications for the Pennsylvania Gaming Board said, ".While I do not have full access to the confidential information developed in the background investigation, I also have no reason to believe that full disclosure and investigation was not made."
The Mashantucket Pequot's issued the following statement, "tribal Council Chairman Michael Thomas provided all the relevant disclosure in his Pennsylvania gaming licence application."
Paul I. Clymer, a Pennsyvlvania State Representative suggested that the Thomas licensing is an example of the flaws in the investigative system. Clymer said, "there's been an on going fight within the General Assembly as to who should be doing these background checks. We want the state police and attorney general to have over-sight in doing these background investigations, and we have introduced bills to do that. The very fact that he had these charges expunged indicated the problem we have with the gaming industry. This is the way they play the game. This is going to be an embarrassment to the Gaming Control Board that they missed this."
This situation will probably intensify because the gaming license was originally granted for a location by the Philadelphia Harbor and now the project has been moved to a mall in the middle of Philadelphia. The move should require a new license even though a license has been paid for and granted at the other location (harbor).
This situation could happen to the Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority. In my opinion, if a tribal member were elected to the Mohegan Tribal Council (also the MTGA) and could not get a gaming license (for any reason), there is no provision in the Mohegan Tribe's Constitution to make that person step down. This potential problem exists and it has never been remedied by the Council of Elders which would have to send out an Amendment to the Constitution to fix this potential problem. Is anyone aware of this? is anyone doing something about this? What do you think?
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