Casino fine levels extreme
Published: August 23, 2014
Before he became the heavyweight “champeen” of the world, Rocky Balboa eked out a living as a reluctant thumb-breaker for bookies, numbers-runners and loan sharks.
If the boxing thing had not worked out, Rocky might have considered a legislative career. Lawmakers have made themselves something of a thumb-breaker for the casino industry.
When the Legislature authorized casino gambling in 2004, it created a mandatory $75,000 fine for conviction of any of 12 crimes committed in connection with or against the casino industry, including perjury or cheating.
According to lawmakers who authorized the draconian fine and eliminated judicial discretion in applying it, its purpose was not only to punish offenders but to protect public confidence in the integrity of the industry. Who needs Rocky when you have the entire machinery of state government working for you?
Then, in 2010, the Legislature added simple theft to the list of crimes subject to the mandatory $75,000 fine.
So when Matthew Eisenberg, 29, a dealer at a casino in Allegheny County, was charged with slipping $1 and $5 poker chips into his tip cup, he faced a $75,000 fine for allegedly stealing $200.
If he had worked anywhere but a casino and had been charged with stealing company money, he would have faced no more than a $10,000 fine, and at the discretion of the judge.
This week, the state Supreme Court overturned the fine as being unconstitutional, calling it “strikingly disproportionate” and adding that making it mandatory exacerbated it.
Lawmakers often try to steer the state’s massive power to help their favored narrow interests, such as the natural gas and casino industries. What are the odds that they’ll use the court decision as a reminder that their obligation is to the far broader public interest?
http://thetimes-tribune.com/opinion/casino-fine-levels-extreme-1.1740309
If the boxing thing had not worked out, Rocky might have considered a legislative career. Lawmakers have made themselves something of a thumb-breaker for the casino industry.
When the Legislature authorized casino gambling in 2004, it created a mandatory $75,000 fine for conviction of any of 12 crimes committed in connection with or against the casino industry, including perjury or cheating.
According to lawmakers who authorized the draconian fine and eliminated judicial discretion in applying it, its purpose was not only to punish offenders but to protect public confidence in the integrity of the industry. Who needs Rocky when you have the entire machinery of state government working for you?
Then, in 2010, the Legislature added simple theft to the list of crimes subject to the mandatory $75,000 fine.
So when Matthew Eisenberg, 29, a dealer at a casino in Allegheny County, was charged with slipping $1 and $5 poker chips into his tip cup, he faced a $75,000 fine for allegedly stealing $200.
If he had worked anywhere but a casino and had been charged with stealing company money, he would have faced no more than a $10,000 fine, and at the discretion of the judge.
This week, the state Supreme Court overturned the fine as being unconstitutional, calling it “strikingly disproportionate” and adding that making it mandatory exacerbated it.
Lawmakers often try to steer the state’s massive power to help their favored narrow interests, such as the natural gas and casino industries. What are the odds that they’ll use the court decision as a reminder that their obligation is to the far broader public interest?
http://thetimes-tribune.com/opinion/casino-fine-levels-extreme-1.1740309
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