Massachusetts Gambling Commission Destroying Its Credibility

95% of Massachusetts voters believe in widespread corruption on Beacon Hill, polling of which Chairman Crosby of the Massachusetts Gambling Commission is fully aware.

This appointment taints the process, raises questions about a highly paid political insider.

Poor choice by Mr. Crosby et al!

Let's not get distracted by the Gambling Commission's missteps, especially after the Gambling Industry Love Fest. They seem to be destroying their own credibility.  



Mass. gaming commission pick sparks outcry
By George Brennan
May 04, 2012


BOSTON — Against the backdrop of casino experts telling them to "trust but verify" and to understand the public is watching, the state gaming commission on Thursday defended its pick of Stan McGee as interim executive director.


In 2007, a Florida prosecutor declined to press charges against McGee after he was accused of sexually assaulting a teenager in the steam room of a Boca Grande resort. But a child abuse investigator asked by the Florida governor's office to review the case told the Times Thursday he found the boy's story credible, and he said he urged prosecutors to reconsider criminal charges.


"The child reported it immediately, he identified (McGee) from the backseat of a police car, and he gave a good statement to police," Terry Thomas, a special agent with 27 years of experience investigating child abuse cases with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, said Thursday. Then he reiterated something he wrote in his report: "I have seen cases successfully prosecuted with less evidence than this case."


When the prosecutor declined to move forward with charges, Boston attorney Wendy Murphy filed suit in 2009 against McGee on behalf of the boy and his family and the case was settled in a confidential agreement in 2011, she said Thursday.


The five-week-old commission hosted a gaming forum Thursday at Boston Convention and Exhibition Center, inviting regulators from New Jersey, the only other state with full-time commissioners, and Pennsylvania, one of the most recent jurisdictions to introduce gaming, to share best practices and their experiences.


Commission Chairman Stephen Crosby said during a break that allegations of sexual misconduct against McGee were "wholly unsubstantiated."


Crosby said commissioners relied on the Florida prosecutor and reviews done by Gov. Deval Patrick's office and McGee's former boss, Daniel O'Connell, who had been secretary of the state's Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development.

McGee has not responded to repeated requests for interviews.


The governor's office did not respond to an email requesting information about any investigation, but Murphy said neither the boy nor his family was ever contacted by the state.


The boy's family has reacted with outrage to comments by Crosby that there is "zero substance" to the allegations and to a statement O'Connell reportedly made to the Boston Globe saying McGee was falsely accused, Murphy said.


"It is difficult for them to understand why a guy who had nothing to do with any of this would feel so comfortable with accusing a young man of being a liar, falsely accusing (the boy) of committing a crime by filing a false (police) report," Murphy said. "They were outraged."


The boy, now a college student, won his high school's highest honor for integrity, she said. "He feels re-victimized," Murphy said. "To have someone they don't know make that kind of scandalous comment is incendiary and outrageous."


McGee, 43, was arrested on the allegation, but refused to answer questions from police detectives, according to the Globe.


Prosecutors, after a 12-week investigation, decided not to take the charges to court, saying they lacked evidence, Crosby said.


Thomas said he reviewed a videotaped interview Florida detectives did with the boy. He estimated that only a handful of cases he's ever recommended for prosecution had been rejected.


Crosby reiterated Thursday that commissioners looked into the allegations and trusted the Florida prosecutor who said the case lacked evidence.

Commissioners never reviewed the lawsuit, did not talk to the police who investigated the case and did not talk to the family of the boy, Crosby said. He said McGee disclosed the lawsuit and settlement, but added such an agreement should not be construed as an admission of guilt.


"I do know settlements happen all the time to make things go away," Crosby said.


Casino opponents said Thursday that McGee's appointment is a misstep that will become political fodder.


"It would seem that, under the circumstances, there are equally qualified candidates whose backgrounds are less contentious," Jessie Powell, a member of a statewide group, United to Stop Slots, that seeks repeal of the expanded gambling legislation through a referendum, said in an email. "The commission has failed to assess the appointment of 'political insiders' and the public perception appropriately in this matter."


An allegation — especially one that didn't result in criminal charges — should not be enough to keep McGee from being appointed to the position, Crosby said.


"We wrestled with it," he said, acknowledging the public's perception.


Crosby touted McGee's credentials for the job — several times referring to him as a "superstar." McGee is a former Rhodes scholar and a Harvard Law School graduate. He has worked in the Patrick administration since 2007 and helped craft Patrick's failed casino legislation that year.


According to a transcript of Tuesday's commission meeting, McGee would like to be considered for the permanent job as executive director, though commissioners have made it clear they would like someone with more gaming commission experience. He has also expressed interest in remaining on the team currently negotiating a compact between the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe and Patrick for a possible Indian casino in Taunton.


The commission considered whether appointing a member of the Patrick administration would be a conflict of interest but decided it was not, Crosby said earlier this week.


McGee is expected to begin his work at the commission on Monday pending a background check, gaming commission spokeswoman Karen Schwartzman said.


He will continue to earn the same $121,000 per year salary he currently earns in the state Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development and is considered on loan for the next four-to-five months.


The gaming commission is in the process of hiring a search firm to find a permanent executive director.


On Thursday, the advice was general but consistent to the commission and others who attended the forum, including officials from Taunton where the Mashpee Wampanoag want to build a casino.


"Protect the public," advised Steven Perskie, former chairman of the N.J. Casino Control Commission.


New Bedford Standard-Times reporter Steve DeCosta contributed to this report.