Chicago Democrat convicted of tax charges

Bill Kearney

Massachusetts ‘Gaming’ Future

Associated Press |- Mar 21, 2013 - Chicago Democrat convicted of tax charges

An influential Chicago Democrat who famously compared himself to a virile hog was convicted Thursday after less than two hours of jury deliberations on charges of tax evasion for not declaring campaign cash he gambled away on slot machines as income.

Read more: http://www.phillyburbs.com/news/national/chicago-democrat-convicted-of-tax-charges/article_2b6b38c4-1e97-55ab-879f-30dcd2515be0.html

 

 

 

 

 

Chicago Democrat convicted of tax charges

Cook County Commissioner William Beavers, left, listens to his attorney Sam Adam Jr., as they meet with reporters at the federal building in Chicago, Thursday, March 21, 2013, after Beavers was convicted of tax evasion for not declaring campaign cash he gambled away on slot machines as income. Beavers, whose commissioner's salary is $85,000, lost $500,000 over three years at Indiana's Horseshoe Casino, sometimes writing himself one $2,000 campaign check after another on daylong gambling binges. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

The tough-talking, rhetorically gifted William Beavers _ a 78-year-old Cook County commissioner who once bragged about his influence by calling himself a "hog with big nuts" _ slumped in his courtroom chair after the verdict. His dejected-looking lawyer, Sam Adam Jr., shook his hand and said, "I'm sorry."

But post-verdict, standing in the federal courthouse lobby surrounded by TV cameras, the elected commissioner and former Chicago alderman regained his trademark swagger _ smiling and sounding defiant.

"I'm not backing down from nothing _ from him," he said about Judge James Zagel, whom Beavers accused of treating him unfairly at trial. He added he would appeal the verdict: guilty on all four counts _ one for obstructing the IRS and three for filings false returns.

Beavers lost $500,000 at Indiana's Horseshoe Casino, sometimes writing himself one $2,000 campaign check after another on daylong gambling binges, prosecutors said. His gambling provided a motive for why he needed a steady, untaxed flow of cash.

Beavers told reporters Thursday that those figures were misleading and showed that government attorneys didn't have a gambler's knack for calculating winnings and losses. Insisted the former policeman and one-time alderman, "I never lost a dime."

Each count carries a maximum three-year prison term. No sentencing date was set.

After the verdict, Beavers also repeated a claim he's made for months that authorities charged him in retaliation for his refusal in 2009 to wear a wire against Commissioner John Daley, the brother of former Chicago Mayor Richard Daley.

"There's no question about it," he said Thursday. "They thought I was a punk. ... (But) I'm not a stool pigeon and never will be."

Acting U.S. Attorney Gary Shapiro called Beavers' allegation "ridiculous."

"We approach hundreds of people, maybe thousands ... to cooperate with us," he said shortly after Beavers talked with the media. "We don't then turn around and prosecute them (because they don't cooperate)."

During closing arguments earlier Thursday, prosecutor Carrie Hamilton told jurors that gambling with campaign funds isn't, in itself, illegal, and that's not why Beavers was on trial. Not declaring campaign money used for personal benefit as income is illegal.

"The defendant is not on trial because he used his campaign fund as a personal slush fund," she said.

"He is on trial because he used his campaign fund as a slush fund and didn't report it. ... He decided the rules shouldn't apply to him."

Adam drew objections from prosecutors and an admonition from the judge during his closing arguments when he suggested the government had manipulated testimony about his client.

"They are trying to bamboozle you," he boomed to the jury. Zagel later told him to avoid personal attacks.

Adam also struck at the credibility of an IRS agent who testified for the government and, at one point on the stand, had conceded that he wasn't adept in all forms of mathematics.

"They got the one IRS agent who can't add and subtract," he said.
Beavers' lawyers argued this was a case of no harm, no foul: That Beavers regarded the money from his campaign as non-taxable loans and paid most of it back. He only did so after learning in 2009 he was under investigation.

Hamilton, however, told jurors there were no records to support that claim, noting Beavers otherwise kept meticulous records during campaign business to ensure he was reimbursed _ even when he purchased $1.09-worth of food at McDonald's, Hamilton said.

"He doesn't need a contract (to indicate the campaign money was a loan) _ he could have just written on a napkin: I.O.U.," she told jurors. "When the campaign owed him something, the records are there. When he claims he's obliged to pay something _ no record."

Beavers took steps to conceal his use of campaign money at casinos, once falsely indicating on a check stub that money was used to print campaign signs, prosecutors said.
The charges included the accusation that Beavers failed to declare more than $68,000 in campaign money he put in a city fund to nearly double his monthly alderman's pension from $2,900 to $6,500 a month.

There's always a Gambling connection

Sheldon Adelson 'earned' his bundles sucking discretionary income from those least able to afford it tied to the Bad Old Days when Gambling was largely unregulated. When you own the state, own the politicians, you largely do as you choose.

Now, the laws don't seem to apply to Mitt Romney.

Sunday, August 12th, 2012 | Posted by Gordon Duff

Foreign Cash Disqualifies Romney from Presidential Bid

Romney Faces Prosecution for Campaign Finance Violations

…by Gordon Duff, Senior Editor

No other American presidential candidate has ever left the US to garner campaign contributions from foreign citizens. 

There is a reason for this, one that Romney and his staff seem oblivious to and the mainstream media had ignored until just recently.

Using foreign contributions in any American election is a felony. Hello Romney campaign…is anybody home, hello?

Below, Fox News identifies illegal fundraising in both Israel and in London, no donor is identified, no records are kept. Gosh, does that look like someone might be trying to circumvent the law?

__________________

YouTube - Veterans Today -

If you go outside the US, if you stay inside the US, if your contributor is living in the US but not a citizen, any money you get can mean years in jail.

Romney went the whole way, personally campaigning outside the US, soliciting foreign citizens, and humiliating himself and his country with his ignorance and flagrant attempts to trade illegal cash for promises of illegal war. One could hardly break more laws if one wanted.

Romney has raised millions in foreign cash at fundraising events across Israel and London, those that we know of so far. One table alone gave him a million in cash. None was from American citizens. Fewer than 10% of Romney’s contributors in Israel are estimated to be “dual citizens.” Others may have just flown the money in.

A real question many might ask, why would a presidential candidate travel outside the US to seek campaign money at all? As the Supreme Court points out, in the decision Bluman, et al., v. Federal Elections Commission, no foreign cash, especially collected overseas, can ever be used in an American campaign.

__________________

Here is what the New York Times reports on recent court decisions that disqualify Romney as a candidate:

January 9, 2012, 3:34 pm

Supreme Court Retains Ban on Foreign Campaign Donations

By JOHN H. CUSHMAN JR.

In a terse four words, the Supreme Court on Monday issued an order upholding prohibitions against foreigners making contributions to influence American elections.

The decision clamped shut an opening that some thought the court had created two years ago in its Citizens United decision, when it relaxed campaign-finance limits on corporations and labor unions. On Monday the Supreme Court, upholding a lower court’s decision in Bluman, et al., v. Federal Election Commission, refused to extend its reasoning in Citizens United to cover foreigners living temporarily here.
Foreign nationals, other than lawful permanent residents, are completely banned from donating to candidates or parties, or making independent expenditures in federal, state or local elections.

The Supreme Court’s order did not discuss the merits or suggest that there was any dissent among the justices.

_________________

The iconic photo below, from the Washington Post, hands Romney out to dry:

A man with some real problems to wail about; “Please g-d, don’t let them catch me…”

Here is what the Washington Post reported on Romney’s illegal fundraising efforts inside Israel:

JERUSALEM — Mitt Romney held an intimate breakfast fundraiser here Monday with some of his campaign’s biggest benefactors, telling them about the spiritual impact his trip to Israel had had on him.

Seated around a U-shaped conference table with roughly 40 donors, with Las Vegas casino mogul Sheldon Adelson immediately to his left, Romney said he was “overwhelmingly impressed with the hand of providence.”

The presumptive Republican presidential nominee was expected to raise more than $1 million from the donors, who each were required to raise or donate $25,000 to $50,000 to attend the event. All of the donors are U.S. citizens, and many of them flew here from the United States to be with Romney during his 36-hour visit to Jerusalem.

Many of those in attendance at the posh King David Hotel are major bundlers for Romney’s campaign, raising tens of thousands of dollars from their business associates and friends. Adelson, for instance, has personally committed to giving tens of millions of dollars to a pro-Romney super PAC.

He sure has a big smile on his face

No filming, no photographs were allowed, no donor IDs were checked.

No due diligence done, only one reporter attended who surprise, surprise, had no access to donors.

This is one of many fundraisers including one in Tel Aviv just for diamond merchants as Fox reported, held in total secrecy.

We have word that Romney and Sheldon Adelson met a group of large donors from among the Jewish community of Russia who flew from Moscow to offer their financial support.

The problem stems with bad legal advice Romney received from his campaign finance staff.

The Romney campaign had been laundering money through corporations, money moved into the US under the “Citizen’s United” decision of the US Supreme Court.

Romney figured he could then go anywhere in the world, peddle foreign policy, promise war, play president and collect cash from foreigners though this is specifically prohibited by US law.

In doing so, he is no longer qualified for office and, if challenged by Ron Paul, has no standing at the Republican Convention. With such a clear violation of law, not just blatant but massive, Romney could face years in prison.

The Romney/Bain legal team was not available for comment.

It is now for Romney to prove that not one cent of contributions collected from thousands in Israel was actually collected from Israel. We wish him good luck with that.

One source of untapped information on Romney’s activities is his Secret Service detail. As federal law enforcement officers, though they are not directly tied to the Federal Election Commission, they are obligated to report any suspicious activity.

Considering Romney’s secret meetings with diamond merchants, many of whom are on international terror watch lists, perhaps the secret service might want to meet their sworn obligation.

_________________

Israel is now the largest source for “blood” or “conflict” diamonds, the major source of funds for terrorism, illegal arms dealing and drug trafficking in the world.

Here is how this works, taking advantage of “loopholes” purposefully written into handling procedures that let billions in illegal diamonds enter the US:

Since the KP, at least in its current form, only tracks the movements and origins of uncut diamonds, countries specializing in the cut variety of stones can churn out billions of dollars worth of diamonds each year, incubated from the sometimes awkward propriety questions the KP has been known to raise.

Due in part to this glaring KP loophole, Israel has become the world’s largest diamond exporter, with revenues from the precious stones accounting for more than a third of its total annual exports. In 2008, Israel generated $9.4 billion through diamond exports, an amount increasing annually.

Since the process of cutting diamonds removes all traceable hallmarks, cut diamonds purchased from Israel are close to impossible to track, indistinguishable from diamonds sent from South Africa, Australia or North America, and end up at major trading hubs such as New York or Hong Kong, where they are purchased wholesale by diamond sellers across the globe.

Is Fox right, is illegal diamond trafficking going to have its own president? Are these diamond “merchants” supporting Romney or “blood diamond launderers?”

Are we to wait on hands and knees for federal authorities to make a statement on this, or are they all at the casino?

When you add Sheldon Adelson, Romney’s “host” and his history of involvement in charges of bribery and prostitution and “casino skimming,” according to the Jewish Global News as quoted by Veterans Today.

Romney certainly has chosen an interesting crowd to help enrich his heritage as a Mormon Bishop.
The results of the Romney overseas trip?

We had fundraisers generally barring reporters and others with “no access, sit in the corner with no camera”.

To that you can add in unpublished meetings and a failure to identify not just sources of cash, which wasn’t just Israeli but money channeled from other foreign supporters from Russia, India, Britain, Switzerland and elsewhere.

Is there any doubt why Romney would leave the country to raise money when he has over a thousand Swiss bank accounts?

Editing: Jim W. Dean

Is it fair for the troops to be humiliated by a presidential candidate selling their lives and limbs for campaign donations?

http://www.veteranstoday.com/2012/08/12/foreign-cash-disqualifies-romney-from-presidential-bid/

The Faces of Corruption and Adam Bond, Candidate for State Rep.

The release of Glenn Marshall from federal prison resurrects a history of widespread corruption in which Adam Bond, current candidate for State Rep. was much involved behind the scenes, even publicly stating when it was revealed that Glenn Marshall was a convicted rapist "Everyone has skeletons in their closet. I still trust the man."

Some of the corruption might be blamed on stupidity, incompetence or unscrupulousness,  like the acceptance of gifts and attendance at Tribal functions, but not all, especially on the part of Mr. Bond who is an attorney.

This is a comment that was posted regarding Mr. Bond's involvement --

Middleboro BOS: Misplaced Indignation #4

There's the Middleboro land auction that was only advertised in the local weekly newspaper, conducted by now retired Town Manager, Jack Healey.

Mr. Healey pretended that he saved the Town money by not retaining an auctioneer, yet cheated the Town of fair market value, who was seen poring over Assessors' Maps with Stephen Graham prior to the auction. Isn't it curious that the Middleboro Board of Selectmen remained silent at the lie, including Mr. Bond? And isn't it curious that the only bidder present was a representative of Herb Strather, financial backer [at that time] of the Tribe? [Strather couldn't get a license in his home state because his background failed to pass muster.]

It was also curious that Neil Rosenthal, Middleboro business owner was present at only this auction.

There's Marsha Brunelle, Middleboro's own Gavel Queen who refused to allow the public to question or comment and refused to discuss the auction, even though a group of us were aware the land was to be auctioned for a CASINO.

And there's Wayne Perkins' connections.

There were backroom deals and secret meetings, many of which are known about. Mr. Bond conducted 'coven meetings' that were widely known and met secretly with the IBEW (and was seen). Once the road to riches seemed assured, his wife began to look at houses around Middleboro.

Recently, Mr. Bond has solicited 'support' from others, insisting on meeting out of town, including a meeting with Derek Maksy, Chairman of the Lakeville Board of Selectman [losing candidate for the seat Mr. Bond now seeks]. Why the secrecy?

Mr. Bond solicited dirt about the incumbent, Keiko Orrall, which is rather curious. The truth has never seemed to matter much to Mr. Bond in the past, such as the lies Mr. Bond has repeated and posted about me, an insignificant person.

Mr. Bond is so wildly unpopular in Middleboro, he was forced to ask numerous people to act as his 'campaign manager.' Maybe Middleboro voters remember Mr. Bond's erratic behavior.

Mr. Bond acted as a One-Man-Casino-Crusade, cramming the Middleboro deal through, spewing misinformation, yet attempted to insinuate himself into the Taunton opposition as a legal expert, a paradox!

For additional information -- 

The Book of Adam

Please review the comments --
Adam Bond is a Candidate for State Representative with Experience

Too much corruption! Glenn Marshall wasn't the only one who should have gone to prison. 

The same backroom deals and secret meetings seem to have transpired Taunton.

Regardless of the vote, the Mashpee Wampanoags will NEVER get a Slot Barn and have mired themselves in debt to a Malaysian investors.

There's far more to tell, but a book will be written about this pathetic chapter in Middleboro history and the nature of greed.
Former Mashpee Tribal Council Chairman Glenn Marshall Returns Home

By: Brian Kehrl
Published: 06/08/12

Former Mashpee Wampanoag Tribal Council chairman Glenn A. Marshall was released this week after 1,091 days of federal incarceration on charges he defrauded the tribe and the federal government.

Mr. Marshall was allowed to return to his East Falmouth home on Monday following a stint in a halfway house, the last stop in three-year a prison term that took him to a low-security facility in Pennsylvania and a medical care center in North Carolina.

He still faces probation that places several restrictions on his activity. Though his probation does not limit his involvement in the tribe, the tribal constitution requires political office holders to be free of felony convictions for the prior five years. Mr. Marshall pleaded guilty to five criminal counts, including making illegal campaign contributions, tax fraud, wire fraud, and Social Security fraud, in federal court in Boston in the spring of 2009.

His release comes at a sensitive time when the tribe is in the heat of pushing its Taunton casino plans forward with the city, state, and federal government. As was the case during much of his time as chairman, Mr. Marshall still has both ardent supporters and relentless detractors within the tribe.

Some revere Mr. Marshall for finally forcing the tribe’s application for federal recognition through the US Bureau of Indian Affairs and suggest that his crimes were either minor or done in the best interests of the tribe. The tribe obtained final federal recognition in 2007, after three decades of struggling with the BIA’s administrative process.

The campaign finance charges stem from 34 separate contributions Mr. Marshall and other tribe members made, using money from the tribe’s casino investors, to a host of federal politicians with clout in Washington, DC, and with the BIA. Another 25 contributions were made by straw contributors arranged by Mr. Marshall to state officials.

“Without him we wouldn’t have tribal recognition,” Chief Flying Eagle, Earl Mills Sr., said in an interview this week. “Glenn made a mistake but without Glenn we would not have recognition and chances are we would have never gotten it. There was no one who could have spent the 12 years to go through that arduous process.”

Glenn made a mistake but without Glenn we would not have recognition and chances are we would have never gotten it.

Yes! Glenn bribed politicians to gain federal recognition a la Jack Abramoff.

Chief Flying Eagle Earl Mills Sr.

Mr. Mills has been sharply critical of the current tribal council administration headed by Chairman Cedric Cromwell, who has sought since his campaign for office to split from the legacy of Mr. Marshall and his former vice chairman, Shawn W. Hendricks Sr.

There is one opinion agreed on by both Mr. Marshall’s supporters and detractors: the former chairman is smart and politically savvy.

Other tribe members, however, say he effectively stole from the tribe for personal gain and discredited the tribe on a statewide, if not national, stage. Mr. Marshall stepped down from office in August of 2007, just months after the tribe’s recognition, following his acknowledgment that he lied about his military career and did not disclose a criminal history from the 1980s.

According to the federal complaint to which Mr. Marshall pleaded guilty, he spent approximately $380,000 in four years on personal expenses such as groceries, vacations, tuition payments for a family member, restaurant tabs, home repairs, mortgage payments, and jewelry, according to the federal charges.

His detractors say many of their peers who maintain support for Mr. Marshall were either given favors by the former chairman or were members of the staff or administration during his reign.
According to court documents, he used money from the tribe’s first casino investors to pay out regular stipends of up to $2,000 to “certain favored members” of the tribe, as well as providing additional financial assistance to other members.

Mr. Marshall could not be reached for comment this week.

To recoup the stolen money, the tribal council has filed a civil suit in tribal court against Mr. Marshall, Mr. Hendricks, and former tribal council secretary Desire Hendricks Moreno.

The suit seeks restitution of approximately $1 million that was channeled through the Mashpee Fisherman’s Association, a business formed by Mr. Marshall and others, and not disclosed to the tribal council. The money was loaned to the tribe by investors and it was expected to be paid back if and when a tribal casino was built, according to information provided by tribal officials.

The investors deposited a total of $4 million in the account, which was also used to pay for professional services related to the tribe’s pursuit of recognition, like lawyers, lobbyists, and historians who prepared the substance of the application.

The suit, which was filed in January, is still in the preliminary stages in tribal court.

According to his probation guidelines, Mr. Marshall was already required to repay the tribal council $383,009.62.

The tribal council is first on the repayment schedule, but he also owes the Social Security Administration $84,603, as a result of charges that he collected disability payments while working a full-time job.

Under the terms of his release, he is also scheduled to sort out his tax liability and pay back taxes due to the US Internal Revenue Service, an amount the IRS estimated to be $90,965.
Until he pays back the tribe and the two agencies, he faces detailed restrictions on what he is allowed to spend money on.

His 41-month sentence was set at the low end of the possible range under the charges, and without more than $1 million in additional fines, in part because he cooperated with federal investigators. His sentence could have been reduced further if Mr. Marshall provided “substantial assistance” in the investigation or prosecution of another criminal. No one else was charged in connection to the case.
The US Bureau of Prisons also reduced his sentenced to 36 months based on good behavior while incarcerated.

http://www.capenews.net/communities/mashpee/news/1890

Middleboro BOS: Misplaced Indignation #6

The Mashpee Wampanoag tribe yesterday terminated its contract with Stephen Graham, the alleged mastermind behind illegal campaign contributions made by former Wampanoag tribal chairman Glenn Marshall.

Stephen Graham was seen in Middleboro Town Hall poring over Assessors' Maps with Jack Healey, now retired Middleboro Town Manager.

For additional information about the corruption involved, here's a list of articles --
Abramoff, Casino Gambling, Political Corruption


Abramoff and Wampanoag Connections...Again!
Abramoff Corruption and Mashpee Wampanoags
To Talia: Casino Corruption #4
To Talia: Another Abramoff Buddy Bites the Dust!
To Talia: Casino Corruption #3
To Talia: Glenn Marshall and the Abramoff Corruption Connection
To Talia: Glenn Marshall and the Abramoff Corruption Connection

Abramoff and Wampanoag Connections...Again!

Campaign Contributions 

This is a comment from KOS which seems curious since the connection to Abramoff was never denied by the Tribe --

The Mashpee were clients of Jack Abramoff, sort of. His name never appeared as an official lobbyist for them, but two of his protegés at Greenberg Traurig, Kevin Ring and Michael Smith, served in that capacity.

Columnist papers over Norquist's corruption

 

Glenn Marshall and The Tizzy!

Abramoff and Wampanoag Connections...Again!

The Abramoff Net

Glenn Marshall’s Bad Plan predated Marshall's guilty plea --
.
....Kevin Ring and Michael Smith, still work with the Mashpee. On the hectic morning of [investor] Len Wolman’s visit,.....

The Gambling Man

Campaign Contributions

An Invitation to Corruption?

A Banana Republic (Abramoff Again Included)

Middleboro BOS: Misplaced Indignation #4

Middleboro BOS: Misplaced Indignation #3

Much Ado About A Casino That Isn't Coming

Campaign Contributions

Abramoff's rumored to have intervened on their behalf "unofficially".

.

indianz included this comment, but failed to name the 6 tribal members --

.

Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe donated $32K to Pombo

Tuesday, December 6, 2005 Members, leaders and lobbyists for the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe of Massachusetts have donated $32,000 to Rep. Richard Pombo (R-California) ever since he became chairman of the House Resources Committee in January 2003.

The first Mashpee donation of $12,000 came from six tribal members on September 29, 2003, the San Joaquin News-Service reported. That same day, Jack Abramoff, the tribe's lobbyist, gave $5,000 to Pombo's political action committee. Abramoff also gave $2,000 to Pombo's re-election campaign earlier that year.

So far this year 2005, tribal members have donated $12,000 Pombo's re-election campaign. Pombo denies the money had anything to do with a bill he introduced to speed up the tribe's federal recognition petition.

 

Jack Healey and the Casino Investors

Casino investors engineered secret deal

In a secret deal, casino investors for the Mashpee Wampanoag secured an option on 200 acres in Middleboro two days before they purchased 125 adjacent acres from the town.

The deal, and the secrecy surrounding it, may have resulted in the town garnering less money than it could have had the deal last April been more widely advertised.

Former Middleboro Town Manager Jack Healey, who first proposed the auction to raise money for the cash-strapped town, has since retired and could not be reached for comment. Town and tribe officials first met in March to begin talking about a proposed casino, according to Times archives.

Middleboro selectmen approved the auction April 9 and it was held April 27. The auction was advertised only in the local weekly newspaper, town Treasurer Judy MacDonald said.

But if the town wanted to get top dollar for the property, it should have done more advertising, Stevens said.

 

Jack Healey and the Casino

Southbridge, Landfills and Mr. Healey

Healey For Hire

RATS Not Forgotten!

Perry Property and Jack Healey

Middleboro's Financial Geniuses

Middleboro selectmen approved the auction April 9 and it was held April 27. The auction was advertised only in the local weekly newspaper, town Treasurer Judy MacDonald said.

Mr. Healey Inflicts Slap-Dash on Southbridge!

Middleboro: Impressive Choices!

Mr. Perkins said this of casinos in March 5, 2007:

Chairman Perkins noted that towns in Connecticut that have casinos don’t pay taxes.

 

 

Not true! But Mr. Perkins was too dumb to fact check that statement!

 

 

 

 

 

Did John Banks ask SkyCity Casino to Donate Anonymously?

Saturday, 05 May 2012, 10:49 pm
Article: Hamish McConnochie

Did John Banks ask SkyCity to Donate Anonymously To His Mayoral Campaign?

By Hamish McConnochieNew evidence has come to light which offers a motive for why John Banks may have asked SkyCity to have donated anonymously to his campaign - namely he didn't want to be seen to be a hypocrite during the Mayoral election campaign.

And did Mayoral Candidate John Banks make a convention centre for Auckland an election commitment to give himself wriggle room to change his position on the pokies after the election?
The new evidence consists of a combination of a little-seen Youtube video posted during the Mayoral campaign (around the time of the anonymous donations from Kim Dotcom), John Banks strident opposition to Casinos expressed in 1997, SkyCity's record in making political donations (it didn't before 2010), and the timing of Prime Minister John Key's intervention in the National Convention Centre policy debate.

Over the past week John Banks has been rocked by claims from millionaire MegaUpload founder and alleged internet pirate Kim Dotcom that he solicited an anonymous donation by asking for a $50,000 donation to be split into two $25,000 cheques.

John Banks' $15,000 anonymous donation from SkyCity was likely made at around the same time.
As yet SkyCity has not revealed why it made an anonymous donation to John Banks, but made a public one to Len Brown (who was subsequently elected as Auckland Supercity Mayor).

John Banks Promises To Back A Convention Centre For Auckland

In a rarely seen YouTube video dated a month before the donation to Kim Dotcom, Banks states that he is "totally committed to bringing an international convention and conference centre to Auckland".
The video is dated May 11 2010, 5 months before the postal ballot Auckland Council election. At the time of posting this article the video has had less than 200 views.

"John Banks has a vision that a national convention centre would be built in Auckland on its waterfront as a part of the masterplanned [sic] development of the Auckland waterfront. John’s vision is that this is ideally located on Bledisloe Wharf, when land is progressively released back to the Auckland public by the Ports of Auckland Ltd. A national convention centre would be a huge economic driver that would create jobs in accomodation, [sic] hospitality, tourism and more. Any such convention centre would require Government assistance for the bulk of the funding." -

John Banks - 2010

Banks comments about the convention centre come just 84 seconds into the campaign video. See John Banks Mayoral Youtube Campaign Page - video title - John Banks on economic development and job creation.
Who Knew About The PM's Pokies Convention Centre Subsidy Plan?
By May 2010, SkyCity was well aware of the convention centre proposal which the Government had put out for consultation in March 2010. (Ref: TVNZ)
And by then Prime Minister John Key's idea of a gambling rules change to sweeten the deal was also already on the table.
According to news reports the Government and Auckland City Council launched a feasibility study for a National Convention Centre in August 2009. Prime Minister John Key dined with SkyCity "bosses" in November of that year. And in April 2012 official papers were released showing that John Key intervened in the policy development process at the end of 2009.

"Official papers released by Labour on Thursday show John Key told officials in 2009 to stop work on the development of an Auckland Convention Centre, and to wait for a SkyCity proposal - details the party interprets as Mr Key's "fingerprints" on the deal." - Radio NZ 19 April 2012

We do not know the date that SkyCity made its $15,000 donation as that detail is not sought in the expenses and donation returns that candidates are required to complete.
However we do know that the twin cheques deposited in a Queenstown bank branch from Megastuff limited are dated 9 June 2010 less than a month after the video of Banks was posted to Youtube.
Political Donations Are Not Business As Usual For SkyCity
SkyCity did not donate to Banks’ 2007 Auckland City mayoral campaign, and its spokesperson Brodie Stewart said his understanding was that the Casino did not have a policy of donating to mayoral candidates – despite SkyCity general counsel Peter Treacy having said his company made donations to political campaigns "to facilitate the democratic process" in 2010.
Brodie Stewart told Scoop that at this stage SkyCity was not planning on donating to mayoral candidates at next year’s election.
Therefore, on the face of it, SkyCity’s donations appear to have been motivated by an intention to help smooth the way for their convention centre proposal.
Did Banks Or Brown Meet With SkyCity In 2010?
Which begs the question did SkyCity meet with Banks and Brown at some point in 2010. Perhaps to "pitch" their convention centre proposal to the candidates. A personal meeting with someone from the campaign teams would seem likely given the size of the donations.
Doubts around the "anonymity" claims made in relation to the casino company's donation to Banks have centred around the fact that SkyCity's $15,000 donation to Brown was publicly declared, while Banks' $15,000 donation was not.
Opportunity
Any meeting between Banks and SkyCity is relevant as if such a meeting did occur, Banks would have had an opportunity to request that any donation made to his campaign be made anonymously, as he is accused of doing by Kim Dotcom.
Motive
Meanwhile Banks prior anti-casino stance (expressed in 1997) may have provided a reason for Banks to make such a request - to avoid being accused of hypocrisy during the campaign period.

"They're wideboys, they're flashboys, they're big boys and they can take it," Banks said in 1997. "Because the little people of this country have been sucked, hung, drawn, quartered, bled by these people in these casinos." TV3 News

By making a convention centre for Auckland a campaign commitment - Banks was clearing himself wiggle room to enable him to subsequently push in favour of SkyCity's bid at council meetings.
Keeping the donation anonymous would protect him from being accused of flip-flopping on his casino views as a result of having received a donation from SkyCity.
Of course we do not know whether at the time he received the donation John Banks was aware of the pokie-machine-rule-change-convention-centre -building-subsidy plan of the Prime Minister.
However he may well have been given that it had by the time of his campaign been in play for more than five months.
SkyCity's Declines To Answer Scoop Questions
Scoop submitted a series of questions to SkyCity which can be read in full below. However the casino company did not answer these questions, instead a spokesman reiterated a prepared statement saying:

"SKYCITY made donations of $15,000 each to Mr Len Brown and Mr John Banks for their respective 2010 Mayoral campaigns. SKYCITY made no donations in 2007 to John Banks’ mayoral campaign."

And What About Len Brown?
SkyCity’s donation is now causing problems for the other candidate in the 2010 Supercity election - Mayor of Auckland, Len Brown. Scoop has also submitted a series of questions to Len Brown this evening.
Recently, Len Brown voted against Cr Cathy Casey’s motion that Auckland Council, "does not support", any law change to allow SkyCity to, "increase opportunities for gambling" in return for a convention centre – effectively a vote in favour of SkyCity's pokie machine rule change proposal.
However Len Brown may now be preparing to change his position.
Today he said he was very concerned about revelations broadcast by TVNZ last night showing that while observations of problem gambling at SkyCity Casino were up over 300% in three years - preventative measures appear to have not increased and the number of problem gamblers banned from the Casino has increased by only 27%.
In an interview with Paul Holmes on TVNZ's Q+A last weekend, Brown did not give a blank cheque to SkyCity for his support for a convention centre, but he did say: "we desperately need that convention centre". The Q+A team summarised his responses to questions on this point as follows:

Brown is expecting the Government to be negotiating well down below the figure of 500 pokies.Brown: "Of course I’m worried about more pokies."
"When the government concludes its negotiation I’ll give my view in terms of whether or not I think that the position they’ve arrived at is appropriate and one that we can actually live with."
Brown believes the harm minimisation measures he wants in place will be listened to by the Government
What does he mean by harm-minimisation? 24/7 officers on the ground looking out for problem gamblers, and a machine to give you a reminder as to how much you’re spending. - Q+A Transcript - Source Scoop.co.nz/a>

(Story continuing....)

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SkyCity Convention Centre and Donations Timeline

1996– John Banks speaks out against casino operators in Parliament calling them "wide boys"August 2009 - Feasibility study for a new convention centre
November 2009 – John Key has dinner with SkyCity bosses
Late 2009 - John Key intervenes in the MED process around building a convention center.
February 2010 - Gerry Brownlee instructs officials to stop work and expect a proposal from SkyCity.
March 2010 - Government seeks high level indications of interest in building a convention centre in Auckland.
Sometime in 2010 – SkyCity donates to both John Banks’ and Len Brown’s Mayoral Campaigns. (Note: SkyCity did not donate to John Banks’ 2007 campaign.)
May 2010 – John Banks uploads video stating that he is "totally committed" to a convention centre for Auckland
June 9 2010 - Two cheques for $25,000 are deposited in the Banksie Campaign account by one of Kim Dotcom's employees in Queenstown.
June 2011 - SkyCity is announced as "preferred developer of the New Zealand International Convention Centre (NZICC)" Press Release - source Scoop.co.nz
5 April 2012 - Grant Robertson asks Prime Minister John Key a question about the $15,000 anonymous donation to John Banks from SkyCity - Hansard - Source Scoop.co.nz
April 19th 2012 - Labour Party releases papers showing the idea of the pokies rule change came from John Key.
April 26th 2012 – Len Brown , as Auckland’s Mayor, votes against the motion that Auckland Council does not support increasing gambling opportunities in return for a convention centre.
April 29, 2012 - Len Brown tells Paul Holmes that he is hoping to see far greater efforts to prevent problem gambling at SkyCity Casino.

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Questions for SkyCity and Len BrownQuestions for SkyCity

Did any representative of SkyCity engage in a conversation with either Mr Banks, a representative for Mr Banks or any party associated with Mr Banks' 2010 Mayoral campaign, at any time prior to, or after the 2010 Auckland Mayoral election, but before Friday December 3, in which it was discussed that any donation made by SkyCity be made anonymously?If no representative of SkyCity discussed making an anonymous donation to Mr Banks' 2010 Mayoral campaign with any representative of Mr Banks' 2010 Mayoral campaign or Mr Banks, why was the donation made anonymously?
How was a donation by SkyCity to Mr Banks' 2010 Mayoral campaign made? Cheque, bank deposit, or other means, was the donation made in person? Did SkyCity write to Mr Banks prior to the 2010 Auckland Mayoral election advising of your donation before, at the time or after the donation was made?
Did SkyCity intend for its donation to Mr Banks' Mayoral campaign to be anonymous?
Did any representative of SkyCity recommend to any signing authority within SkyCity who authorised the donation to Mr Banks 2010 Mayoral campaign recommend that the donation be made without any accompanying letter or other correspondence which would or otherwise the lack of which would render the donation potentially anonymous and is that standard practice for SkyCity?
Has any correspondence or other communication been received or engaged in with Mr Banks or any representative of Mr Banks' or other person associated with Mr Banks' 2010 Mayoral campaign that expresses thanks to SkyCity for a donation? If so, when and what was said?

Questions for Len Brown

During your campaign for the Auckland Mayoralty in 2010, did you ever meet with SkyCity?During your campaign for the Auckland Mayoralty in 2010, did you ever discuss a potential international conference and convention centre with SkyCity?
During your campaign for the Auckland Mayoralty in 2010, did you discuss a potential international conference and convention centre with any parties other than SkyCity; if so, which?
Are you able to describe the method in which SkyCity made its donation to your campaign?
Did SkyCity communicate its donation to you in either in advance of the donation or afterwards, and if so, did it provide a reason for its donation?

*********Hamish McConnochie is a student at Victoria University with a close interest in politics, he has a column in Salient and in the interests of full disclosure works part time for the Problem Gambling Foundation

http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL1205/S00056/did-john-banks-ask-skycity-casino-to-donate-anonymously.htm

Peninsula Gaming Escaped Prosecution

Attorneys attack prosecutor payments
Having casino company pay isn’t right, they claim in Daniel case filings
By BILL SHEA, Messenger staff writer , Messenger News

Peninsula Gaming, the company picked to run a proposed Fort Dodge casino, and its top two executives appeared to be in legal trouble as 2010 drew to a close.

Special Prosecutor Lawrence Scalise filed criminal charges in October of that year against the Dubuque company; Brent Stevens, its chief executive officer; and Jonathan Swain, its chief operating officer; in connection with a contribution to the re-election campaign of former Gov. Chet Culver by Steve Daniel, a Fort Dodge man leading the effort to bring a casino to his town. Daniel, Webster County Entertainment and Davenport attorney Curtis Beason were also charged in the case.

The legal fortunes of Peninsula Gaming, Stevens and Swain have since improved. All charges against them have been dismissed, and the company is now paying for the ongoing prosecution of Daniel, Webster County Entertainment and Beason.

That arrangement is now the target of a fresh offensive by defense attorneys seeking to get the special prosecutors disqualified and the charges against the remaining defendants thrown out.

Daniel's attorney, Monty Fisher, of Fort Dodge, and Beason's attorneys, Leon Spies, of Iowa City, and Mark Weinhardt and William Ortman, of Des Moines, have filed motions in Polk County District Court claiming the payment arrangement violates ethics rules.

''Allowing the well heeled defendant, PGP (Peninsula Gaming), to escape prosecution by agreeing to pay for the prosecution of others violates not only the plain language of the ethical rules as argued by defendant Beason, but also clearly violates the spirit of the rules and the entire administration of a fair and impartial justice system,'' Fisher wrote in a motion filed Thursday.

The payment arrangement is outlined in a May 12, 2011, letter to Scalise from Guy Cook, the Des Moines attorney representing Peninsula Gaming. In the letter, Cook writes that the charges will be dismissed and adds ''finally, Peninsula Gaming will pay the costs of the prosecution of the charges previously brought through conclusion of this matter.''

On May 13, 2011, the prosecutors dropped the charges against Peninsula, Stevens and Swain.

Scalise's law firm, Coppola, McConville, Coppola, Hockenberg & Scalise, of West Des Moines, has been paid more than $100,000 so far for his work as a special prosecutor.

''The state of Iowa is not going to end up having one penny paid out to us that has not been reimbursed, so the taxpayers aren't footing the bill,'' Scalise said during a Nov. 17, 2011, hearing.

The charges against all the defendants in the case were filed on Oct. 11, 2010, following a probe by the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation.

Daniel and Webster County Entertainment are scheduled to go on trial in Des Moines beginning Jan. 23 on charges of making a campaign contribution in the name of another and willful failure to disclose a campaign contribution. Beason, who is charged with failure to disclose a campaign contribution and obstruction, is also scheduled to go on trial that day.

The trial may be delayed, depending on what Polk County Associate District Court Judge William Price does with the six motions filed by the defense attorneys. Each of those motions addresses a different aspect of the legality of the payment arrangement between Peninsula Gaming and the special prosecutors.

A call seeking comment from Scalise wasn't returned Friday. A staffer in his office said he was meeting with Attorney General Tom Miller about a different issue.

Scalise and fellow Special Prosecutor Richard McConville claim that Daniel funneled campaign cash to Culver on behalf of Peninsula Gaming when he made his donation in November 2009.

During a pre-trial hearing in November 2011, Scalise said that Beason was the ''director, architect and orchestrator of the entire program to disguise the true source of the dollars.''

Attorneys disagree on how much money was donated. Scalise and McConville have said the amount was $25,000. Fisher has said the total was $11,000 paid in increments of $4,500, $4,500 and $2,000.

The prosecutors say the donation was made shortly after Peninsula Gaming paid Webster County Entertainment, a group led by Daniel, a $25,000 consulting fee. According to Scalise, within days of the $25,000 being deposited in the Webster County Entertainment account, checks were written to Daniel, Jim Kesterson and Merrill Leffler Jr. Kesterson and Leffler are Fort Dodge men who were partners with Daniel in Webster County Entertainment.

Scalise said the three men promptly wrote checks to Culver's re-election campaign.

Kesterson and Leffler were never charged with any crimes.

The effort to create the Diamond Jo Fort Dodge casino ended in May 2010 when the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission declined to issue the needed license.

Massachusetts: Illegel Campaign Contributions

Developer donated to Calif. treasurer
Gifts were followed by Hub investment
By Casey Ross Globe Staff

Among the dozens of illegal campaign contributions developer Arthur Winn and his company allegedly made to get public support for his Columbus Center project, three in particular stand out.

Each was unusually large, at $10,900, and sent in January 2006 to the campaign account of California’s then-treasurer, Philip Angelides, a trustee of the state’s powerful public pension fund. The fund’s money manager was weighing a major investment in Columbus Center.

About two months later, as Angelides was running for governor of California, Winn announced that the pension fund and its money manager agreed to invest in the massive Boston project.

The donations to Angelides, newly disclosed in federal court documents in Boston, are perhaps the clearest example of what prosecutors allege was an illegal effort by Winn to give large sums to politicians in order to get public funds to support his $800 million project.

Last week the 72-year-old developer and one of his companies, Winn Columbus Center Limited Partnership, agreed to plead guilty to making illegal donations through intermediaries to hide the source of tens of thousands of dollars in contributions made between 2002 and 2009. Winn faces up to six months in prison and $200,000 in fines. The company has agreed to pay a fine of nearly $1.6 million.

It is only now, years after the fight over Columbus Center ended, that details are emerging about how Winn allegedly tried to game the system while the project’s opponents fought to keep it from receiving public subsidies.

“Political contributions like this make voters even more cynical and undermine what should be a legitimate decision making process based on what is best for taxpayers,’’ said state Representative Martha Walz, a Democrat from Boston who spent years fighting Columbus Center.

Weighed down by the massive costs of building over the Massachusetts Turnpike and facing a hostile lending environment, the project collapsed in 2007, ending Winn’s plan to unite Boston’s Back Bay and South End neighborhoods with a towering complex of condominiums, a hotel, and stores. The California pension fund, known as Calpers, said it lost about $91 million on the investment.

In a statement, Angelides said he did not take any action to support the investment in Columbus Center and does not recall discussing the project with Winn or the Calpers money manager, MacFarlane Partners. Angelides lost the 2006 California governor’s race to Arnold Schwarzenegger and most recently served as chairman of a federal panel investigating the causes of the financial crisis that erupted in 2008.

A Calpers spokesman said the decision to finance Columbus Center was made by MacFarlane, which had broad discretion to choose real estate investments for the state fund, and that Angelides and other board members never voted to specifically give money to the project. MacFarlane said in a statement it did not even know of the donations from Winn, nor did its executives discuss the Columbus Center investment with Angelides.



While the investment in Columbus Center was not announced publicly until March 2006, Winn’s attorney, Robert Popeo, said that MacFarlane had signed an agreement to fund the project in April 2005 - months before Winn gave any donations of Angelides.

“That means to me there was no quid pro quo,’’ Popeo said. “The inference is illogical - you would not sign an agreement and thereafter make political contributions to a state treasurer in consideration of that.’’

In the plea agreement he signed last week, Winn reserved the right to argue before a judge that the Angelides donations cited by prosecutors were not illegal.

Neither Angelides nor any of the other politicians named in court documents as receiving illegal donations from Winn are accused of wrongdoing. The donations went to an array of politicians, including Governor Deval Patrick; Mitt Romney when he was governor; US Senators John F. Kerry and Charles Schumer; several congressmen from Massachusetts; Boston Mayor Thomas Menino; and former state senator Dianne Wilkerson, a longtime Columbus Center supporter who last year admitted to accepting bribes in unrelated real estate cases and is serving a 3 1/2-year prison sentence.

But in court papers filed last week federal prosecutors pointedly note that Columbus Center ended up getting much of the public support Winn and his company had sought. In addition to the Calpers investment, Winn’s project won approval for about $60 million in grants, tax credits, and low-cost loans from the state and the city of Boston. Separately, the US Department of Housing and Urban Development approved $32.5 million in tax-exempt bonds.

In some instances, prosecutors said, Winn asked for - and received - specific favors from public officials who wrote letters, filed legislation, and took other actions to help him secure taxpayer money for the project. However, the documents do not link individual politicians to specific actions taken on Winn’s behalf.

While his quest for funding was unfolding, prosecutors said, Winn and executives at his company orchestrated a scheme in which they induced relatives, friends, and vendors to give donations to public leaders, and then secretly reimbursed them to hide the source of the money.

According to court documents, the former California treasurer was the biggest beneficiary of illegal giving by Winn and his company, collecting $42,700 in donations between January and June 2006. Those were separate from the $17,300 Winn donated to Angelides in November 2005, according to California campaign finance records. All were made during a critical time for Columbus Center, which was seeking capital to help pay escalating costs for the project, which started at about $400 million in 2004 and soared to about $800 million by 2007.

Prosecutors said the $42,700 given to Angelides is part of $157,900 Winn and his company funneled to various politicians while trying to move forward with the project.

Winn himself has agreed only to plead guilty to a small fraction of those donations - $4,500 given to US Representatives Stephen Lynch and Michael Capuano. Many of the other illegal donations alleged by prosecutors occurred beyond a statute of limitations that Winn declined to waive. No date has been set for Winn’s sentencing.

The company, meanwhile, agreed to plead guilty to nine counts of illegal campaign donations, one of which is a felony because the total amount in that count exceeded $10,000.