Crosby Repeats Propaganda

Casino chief: Jobs on the way

By George Brennan

gbrennan@capecodonline.com

March 07, 2013

 

PLYMOUTH — Stephen Crosby, chairman of the Massachusetts Gaming Commission, assured representatives of the state's labor and trade unions Wednesday that 10,000 construction jobs are coming as quickly as possible.

 

Crosby was guest speaker at the Massachusetts Building Trade Council AFL-CIO Annual Convention at the Radisson Hotel in Plymouth. The commission is moving as quickly as possible while trying to balance the importance of having a transparent, ethical process the public can trust, he said.

 

The gambling industry in Massachusetts is also expected to create 10,000 permanent jobs and generate as much as $500 million in additional tax revenue. The commission has been criticized for moving too slowly in the licensing process and Crosby acknowledged that unions have been among the loudest critics.

 

 

Only those blinded by the Fools' Gold of Gambling would believe those overstated projections.

 

Only political hacks repeat them as mantra.

 

A reasonable person can easily discredit the figures with information from the AGA [American Gam[bl]ing Association] web site.

 

 

"We're still going about building an organization from ground, absolute, zero," Crosby said. "We are as committed as we possibly can be to getting this done as quickly as we can get it done, but it has to be done in a way that ensures the quality and integrity of the process."

 

 

It is unclear if any of the political hacks involved in this process are capable of defining 'integrity.'

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Crosby outlined the timeline for the state to issue licenses, saying the slot parlor, which has four applicants, could be licensed by September, and two casino developers will likely be selected from seven other applicants by this time next year.

 

"Construction will start, essentially, as soon as the license is awarded," Crosby said.

 

More complicated, Crosby told the crowd of 100 delegates representing carpenters, iron workers and other trade officials, is the southeastern Massachusetts region where the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe plans to build a $500 million Indian casino in Taunton.

 

On March 21, Crosby and the four other commissioners will hold their regularly scheduled meeting at Bristol Community College in Fall River before deciding whether to open the region to competitive commercial bids, allow the tribe to continue with its federal process unchallenged or a combination of the two.

 

"I don't know if we'll make a decision on the 21st, but we'll have a very thorough discussion," he said.

Outside the convention ballroom, Crosby said he and other commissioners remain undecided on how to proceed in the region. In December, they gave the tribe a three-month reprieve, but said they wanted to see progress on a compact between the tribe and Gov. Deval Patrick, as well as steps toward clearing federal land hurdles.

 

In recent days, both the tribe and Patrick have said a compact, which will spell out what the tribe pays the state in lieu of taxes, is within days of being finalized. The tribe has also released an advisory opinion from the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs that its land application is being considered as an initial reservation under federal gambling laws.

 

"It was clear (the Legislature) wanted the tribe to have a clear shot at this for reasons, not just for the tribe, but in the best interest of Southeastern Mass. in the long run," Crosby said. "It's also clear they didn't want to wait so long that Southeastern Mass. falls out of bed and doesn't get the benefits for years down the road."

 

In answering a question from one of the union delegates, Crosby said the governor and Legislature were trying to avoid having two casinos in Southeastern Massachusetts by giving the tribe "a right of first refusal."

 

Crosby heralded the "robust competition" created by the Massachusetts licensing process in the other regions, but added that five applicants have turned in "lousy" paperwork that has slowed some of the background checks.

 

 

 

 Ultimately the competition for the slot parlor and two licenses is expected to benefit workers and the state by producing the most jobs and the most revenue.

 

"Competition is good," Crosby said. "Competition is what makes people stretch the farthest. Competition is what creates the most jobs."

 

http://www.capecodonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20130307/BIZ/303070305/-1/NEWSLETTER100

Massachusetts: You just got screwed!

Did you even notice?

If you liked the Big Dig, wait until you see what it costs to subsidize Suffolk Downs/Caesars/Richard Fields, et al. [Remember that Caesars is the Gambling Vulture that's $20 BILLION in debt whose entire cash flow is devoted to debt repayment.]

Wonder what those 'charitable contributions' Mayor Menino and Senator Petrucelli will look like when this goes through?

	Route 1 Transportation Improvement Project

MassDOT is proposing to make improvements to a portion of Route 1 in Revere, Malden and Saugus. The 2.4-mile project begins 1,500 feet south of the Route 1/Route 60 interchange (Copeland Circle) and continues north through the Route 1/Route 99 interchange.   Route 1 within the project area is primarily a limited-access urban principal arterial highway that serves as the major north-south roadway for communities north of Boston. This portion of Route 1 has long-standing operational and safety problems that are the result of a combination of factors -- high traffic volumes, poor roadway geometry, and a reduction in travel lanes from six to four throughout the 2.4-mile stretch. This website is provided to keep the public and officials informed on the process of the project and to provide the project team with convenient access to feedback that will shape the design of the improvements.     http://www.route1project.com/  Please remember to thank Governor Slot Barns Patrick next time you see him, totally oblivious to the crime and corruption that surrounded him! Whether it was Stan McGee.... E. Abim Thomas..... Bialecki..... Or a whole host of corrupt others.....

5 Years Made Sense!

Lawyer plays both sides of the casino table

By George Brennan

gbrennan@capecodonline.com

March 03, 2013

 

The governor's former legal adviser on Indian casinos, now working in the gambling practice of a private law firm, was actively involved in establishing the same commission she now lobbies, Massachusetts Gaming Commission emails show.

 

In dozens of emails, released by the commission after a Times public records request, E. Abim Thomas emerges as a trusted adviser to commissioners on hiring consultants, vetting law firms and providing guidance on federal Indian gambling laws.

The Times first reported Thomas' jump from the Patrick administration to the Boston law firm of Goodwin Procter in December and requested the emails at that time.

 

After the Times raised questions about a possible conflict of interest, a state Ethics Commission official in an email to Thomas reiterated it had cleared her to practice gambling law even though state law requires a one-year cooling-off period before a state employee can go before an agency he or she had direct contact with as an employee.

 

Neither Thomas nor gaming commissioners agreed to be interviewed for this story. In an email from Goodwin Procter, spokesman Lee Feldman reiterated Thomas' role had been cleared by the Ethics Commission.

 

"We remain convinced that Ms. Thomas has fully and completely complied with all ethical and legal requirements under Massachusetts law and the state's Rules of Professional Conduct for attorneys," the firm's statement reads. "Based on specific guidance from both the firm's Ethics Advisory Committee and the state Ethics Commission, we believe that her work in this area meets all legal and ethical standards and is entirely appropriate."

 

In December, former state Attorney General Scott Harshbarger, a casino critic, told the Times that Thomas working for Goodwin Procter on casino interests "raises with the public the appearance that inside information and influence is now being used for private individuals rather than the public interest."

 

In a more recent interview, state Sen. James Eldridge, D-Acton, a casino opponent who pushed for a five-year cooling-off period for legislators to work for gambling interests, said Thomas is an example of why he wanted stricter rules.

 

"It's going to cast doubt on people's trust in government," Eldridge said. "Even if the letter of the law was followed, my greater concern here is, once the gaming commission makes the decision where to locate casinos, is that it will create more temptation for those in government to make the jump to work for a developer or a casino because of the lucrative financial opportunities."

 

Feldman's email downplayed Thomas' role in establishing the gaming commission, saying she never sat in on interviews for commission consultants because of prior commitments, and the bid documents she passed on for use by the commission were used by the governor's office for other matters.

 

The dozens of emails released by the gaming commission paint a different picture of the role Thomas played in shaping the agency.

 

"Thank you so much for all your help getting the commission up and running — I'm not sure what we could have done without you!" Janice Reilly, the commission's chief of staff, wrote in an email congratulating Thomas on her honeymoon and new job with Goodwin Procter.

 

In another email, Commissioner James McHugh, a retired judge, thanks Thomas for her careful and thoughtful counsel on the compact.

 

"The commonwealth is by far the better for your careful stewardship of that process and for the thought and diligence you brought to other matters you faced while working for the governor," McHugh wrote. "Have a wonderful trip and, after you return, I look forward to working with you in your new capacity."

CONTRADICTORY OPINION

Thomas was one of the chief advisers for Gov. Deval Patrick in a compact with the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe that was rejected in October by the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs. The bureau considered the 21.5 percent of gross gambling revenue to be too lucrative for what the tribe was receiving from the state in concessions. Some aspects of the compact were deemed illegal by Kevin Washburn, assistant secretary of the bureau.

 

Later this month, the gaming commission will decide whether to open Southeastern Massachusetts, known as Region C in the state law that authorizes casinos, to commercial bids or to allow the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe more time to clear federal hurdles for its proposed $500 million Indian casino in Taunton.

 

Thomas, in her new role as a private attorney, already has written on behalf of an unnamed client giving a completely contradictory opinion to the one she had given commission Chairman Stephen Crosby in an email months earlier while she was still on the state payroll, the emails released by the commission show.

 

Her Nov. 27 letter, written on Goodwin Procter letterhead, states that the rejection of the compact by the bureau was in effect a failure by the tribe to meet a July 31 deadline in the state's Expanded Gaming Act, which she helped craft.

 

"If the July 31 deadline was not met, then the commission is obligated under the Expanded Gaming Act to request applications for a commercial license in Region C," Thomas wrote.

 

On Aug. 2, just after the initial compact agreement was ratified by the state Legislature, Thomas answered a series of questions raised by Crosby in an email. One of those questions was whether a rejection by the bureau, which was hypothetical at the time, would constitute the tribe missing its deadline.

 

"We have not interpreted the statutory language to mean that," Thomas wrote. "The statute required the Legislature to approve the compact with the governor by July 31 and the Legislature satisfied that requirement."

 

Goodwin Procter is unfazed by Thomas changing her opinion to suit her client. "Internal Goodwin Procter communications concerning client matters are confidential," Feldman wrote.

 

"However, nothing prohibited Ms. Thomas from advocating a view in her public comment letter to the commission that differed from her views of the governor's office that she may have communicated during her tenure as a member of the governor's staff."

CELEBRATORY LUNCH

The tribe, which hosted Thomas and other state leaders at a celebratory clambake in August where lobsters were the main course, has declined to comment publicly on her change of jobs or her change of opinion. The Mashpee tribe is in a tenuous position because it still has to play nice with the governor's office as negotiations on a new compact are at a critical stage.

 

In a letter to the commission, a tribe lawyer picked apart Thomas' Goodwin Procter letter. The commission can open Region C to competitive bids only if it concludes the "tribe will not have land take into trust," the letter states.

 

The tribe's federal land application is still pending. In February, the bureau issued an advisory opinion, released by the tribe, announcing the federal agency is moving ahead with review of the application as an "initial reservation" for land in Mashpee and Taunton.

 

The hundreds of documents turned over by the gaming commission show Thomas not only advised the commissioners on key legal issues, but that she had a friendly relationship with them as well.

 

A series of emails show Crosby and McHugh inviting Thomas out for "lunch (or drinks or breakfast; whatever is most convenient for you)" to celebrate her wedding. They settle on lunch June 28 at Hillstone Restaurant in Boston, the email exchange shows.

 

McHugh attended a going-away party thrown for Thomas. All of the commissioners were invited, but Crosby and Commissioner Gayle Cameron were out of the country at the time on a gaming commission trip.

 

Another email indicated that McHugh planned to be a guest speaker at Goodwin Procter after Thomas joined the firm. Feldman, in his email, said the appearance never took place and had nothing to do with Thomas.

 

The gaming commission, which has promised an open and transparent process, refused repeated requests to make Crosby and McHugh available to answer specific questions. Instead, they issued a statement through spokeswoman Elaine Driscoll, reassuring that commissioners can remain impartial.

 

 

 

They've already proven they're not impartial!

 

"The commission is committed to a fair, transparent and participatory process for all of its decisions," the email states. "All five commissioners are fully committed to that process and will rigorously employ it with every decision they make regardless of the persons or entities affected by those decisions."

 

- See more at: http://www.capecodonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20130303/NEWS/303030348/-1/NEWSLETTER100#sthash.tLuqOJN2.dpuf

E. Abim Thomas: Ethics?

Governor's former casino expert at odds with tribe

By George Brennan

gbrennan@capecodonline.com

December 15, 2012

 

One of the governor's former top legal advisers and his key negotiator with the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe is now representing a potential competitor before the Massachusetts Gaming Commission.

 

E. Abim Thomas, who joined the firm of Goodwin Procter LLP in early November, wrote a letter to the commission Nov. 27 for an unspecified client urging commissioners to open up Southeastern Massachusetts, known as Region C in the gaming legislation, to competitive bids.



 

 

In her letter, Thomas, who until Sept. 5 was deputy chief legal counsel to Gov. Deval Patrick, argues that the tribe did not meet its July 31 deadline to reach a compact with the state because the original deal — one she helped craft — was rejected by the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs for being too generous to the state.

 

The state's conflict of interest law requires a one-year cooling-off period before a former state worker can appear before a state agency working on an issue that was under their "official responsibility" as a state employee.

 

An amendment to the law about casinos does not seem to apply to Thomas, however, because it requires a one-year cooling-off period for anyone with a specific financial interest in a casino or applying for a license.

 

But one prominent casino critic said even if Thomas' new job is legal, it is "exactly the kind of relationships that everyone feared that could and would occur."

 

"In this case, obviously, you have a very good lawyer, (who) made a major contribution to governor's office, to the legislation; highly respected," Scott Harshbarger, the state's former attorney general, said Friday.

 

"But it does raise a concern when you come right out of that office and come into a major law firm that's dealing in Massachusetts with all of the same issues. Whether or not it comports, I think it is an appropriate concern because it raises with the public the appearance that inside information and influence is now being used for private individuals rather than the public interest. It's unfortunate particularly in the early stages where we are trying to do it the right way."

 

 

 

Thomas did not respond to an email or messages left at her Boston law office.

 

Her firm, Goodwin Procter, insists Thomas' role has been fully vetted and she is doing nothing wrong.

 

"Ms. Thomas has fully and completely complied with all ethical and legal requirements under Massachusetts law and the state's Rules of Professional Conduct for attorneys," Lee Feldman, a spokesman for the firm, said in an email.

 

"Both Ms. Thomas and Goodwin Procter are well aware of the sensitivities and public scrutiny that surround all gaming-related issues. We believe that her work in this area meets all legal and ethical standards and is entirely appropriate."

 

Goodwin Procter provided an email from Deirdre Roney, chief counsel for the state Ethics Commission, written after inquiries from the Times, that confirms advice the board previously gave to Thomas. The email specifically says Thomas could not work on anything pertaining to the compact in her new job but makes a distinction between the compact and any events that have happened since the deal was rejected by the Bureau of Indian Affairs in October.

 

"Events that have occurred in the southeast region with respect to gaming since you left the governor's office, and, in particular, the gaming commission's actions to respond to the federal rejection of the compact, are new 'particular matters' for purposes of the law," Roney wrote. "You are not prohibited from working on such matters, blogging on them, etc."

 

Roney's opinion does not mention that Thomas helped to craft the casino legislation. But in a follow-up email to the Times, Feldman said Thomas has had conversations where she "specifically sought and received guidance from the state Ethics Commission on whether she could perform work related to the Expanded Gaming Act and gaming generally."

 

"I'm not a lawyer, so I can't say where the line is in this situation," said state Sen. Stanley Rosenberg, D-Amherst, the Senate's point man on casinos.

 

Rosenberg, who helped craft the gaming legislation, said Thomas played a key role in the Expanded Gaming Act, as well as the compact, and so has intimate knowledge of the contents. "I'm going to hope that she vetted this properly, so she knows where the line is," he said. "I have a sense of her as someone who would not want to cross the line intentionally or unintentionally." 

[Ethics, anyone? Senator Rosenberg owned and profited from casino stock at a time he was cheerleading Gambling Legislation.]

 

 

It is unknown if anyone has questioned Thomas' role with the state Ethics Commission. The commission does not confirm or deny complaints filed or active investigations, a spokesman said.

 

The tribe seeks to build a $500 million casino on 146 acres in Taunton and has applied to have the land taken into trust by the U.S. Department of the Interior. Thomas has been visible at several key milestones in the tribe's efforts. In August, just days before she left the governor's administration, she attended a clambake at Mashpee Wampanoag tribal headquarters with Patrick and other administration officials to celebrate the compact.

 

The letter she wrote to the commission in her new role with Goodwin Procter directly contradicts positions taken by the tribe and Patrick since the federal government rejected the compact.

 

In it, she argued that because the Bureau of Indian Affairs did not approve the compact, the tribe did not meet the July 31 deadline set by the Legislature to approve the deal.

 

"If the July 31 deadline was not met, then the commission is obligated under the Expanded Gaming Act to request applications for a commercial license in Region C," Thomas wrote.

 

Tribe leaders declined a request for interviews about Thomas through spokeswoman Brooke Scannell. A tribe lawyer did write a letter to the gaming commission Tuesday that rebuts the legal arguments made by Thomas and concludes the commission should not open the region to competitive bids. The letter argues Region C can only be opened to commercial bids if the commission determines the tribe will not be able to get land into trust. And it reminds the commission that the land-into-trust application is still pending before the Interior Department.

 

On Tuesday, the gaming commission is expected to vote on a so-called "parallel process" of accepting prequalifying applications from commercial bidders while the tribe continues to work its way through a tangle of federal approvals. After six months, the commission would re-evaluate the tribe's progress and consider whether to allow commercial bids to continue to the next phase.

 

The compact includes a provision to allow the two sides to go back to the negotiating table, which is what the tribe and Patrick have done. "We clearly met the July 31 deadline outlined in the Expanded Gaming Act, and any interpretation that says otherwise does not reflect the language of the act," Jason Lefferts, a spokesman for the state's Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development, said in an email to the Times. —» The act allows the gaming commission to consider commercial license options after Aug. 1 based on the tribe's land-in-trust status, not the compact status."

 

Her relationship with the governor is close. In June, Patrick officiated at her wedding, according to an announcement in the The New York Times. She joined Goodwin Procter on Nov. 7, two months after she left her $90,667 per year job at the Statehouse and more than a month before the Bureau of Indian Affairs rejected the compact.

 

According to documents provided by Goodwin Procter, Thomas disclosed to Patrick on May 7 that she had been approached by the firm to join its gaming practice. That came as the tribe was in the throes of negotiations with Thomas and Patrick's other legal advisers. She remained part of the negotiating team, despite the disclosure.

 

The departure of Thomas from the Patrick administration raises the question of who remains on Beacon Hill to renegotiate a compact with the tribe. Patrick's chief of staff, William "Mo" Cowan, is leaving the administration in January to go back into private legal practice.

 

Meanwhile, Stanley McGee, another key adviser, left in June after his appointment as interim executive director of the gaming commission raised questions about his background check.

 

 

"Discussions regarding the compact are ongoing and the administration's team, along with our outside advisor, remain in close communication with the tribe," Lefferts said in his email. —» The governor's incoming chief of staff (Brendan Ryan) and several members of the existing team have worked on this issue for years and are well-versed."

 

 

SWITCHING TEAMS

March 14 - Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe contacts Gov. Patrick to begin negotiations on a compact.

• May 7 - E. Abim Thomas, chief deputy counsel to Patrick and negotiator on the compact, discloses that she has been approached by Goodwin Procter LLP to join the firm's gaming practice.
• July 10 - The tribe and Patrick announce they have reached an agreement on a compact.
• July 30 - The Legislature approves the compact, one day ahead of a July 31 deadline.
• Sept. 5 - Thomas leaves Patrick administration.
• Oct. 24 - The federal Bureau of Indian Affairs rejects the compact.
• Nov. 7 - Thomas is announced as new member of the Goodwin Procter "Gaming, Gambling & Sweepstakes" practice.
• Nov. 27 - Thomas writes a letter to gaming commission on behalf of an unidentified client urging competitive bids in the region where the tribe wants to build a casino.

 

http://www.capecodonline.com/

E. Abim Thomas
Associate



I joined Ropes & Gray LLP in 2003. During my first fews years, I had the opportunity to contribute to projects in both the Corporate and Litigation Departments and eventually joined the Litigation Department on a full-time basis. In addition to my corporate and litigation experience, I have assisted multiple pro bono clients in pursuit of their compelling claims for political asylum. In my first year, when not in the office, I could be found outside the State House or City Hall with other co-workers supporting Massachusetts’ landmark Goodridge decision.

I graduated from Harvard College in 1996 where I was a Psychology major and co-chair of Harvard’s Bi-Gay-Lesbian Straight Alliance. While in college, I volunteered for Aids Action and the Fenway Community Health Center. After college I stayed at Harvard and worked in the Dean’s Office on the Women’s Initiative Project to increase the visibility of women on campus. Forever in love with my alma mater, I am active in many alumni organizations and continue to serve as a pre-law tutor to undergraduates at Harvard. After a year in Boston, I moved out to San Francisco where I worked at an investment bank for two years and then worked at the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area. While in San Francisco, I volunteered for San Francisco Pride and attended every circuit party possible. I then moved to Washington, DC for law school. I earned my J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center in 2003, where I worked in the Institute for Public Representation, participated on the Alternative Dispute Resolution Team, and served as an Editor for the Georgetown Journal of Gender and the Law.

At Ropes, I have been welcomed by the firm’s Attorneys of Color Group as well as the GLBT Lawyer’s Forum. I am impressed by Ropes’ commitment to diversity and the firm’s continued support of both groups. Both groups have allowed me to meet great attorneys and even more amazing people who I always look forward to seeing at the office and outside of work.



http://www.ropesgrayhiring.com/pages/culture/glb_bios/thomas.htm