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Residents file federal suit to stop Philly casinos
By Ed Goppelt
Monday, 11/05/07
(1194284651971)
In an attempt to halt the construction of 2 Philadelphia casinos, an assortment of community groups and individuals sued the state Gaming Board in federal court on Friday.
In the suit 14 plaintiffs, led by Society Hill Civic Association, are asking the federal court in Philadelphia to order the Gaming Board to either revoke or not issue gaming licenses to the SugarHouse and Foxwoods Casinos. Alternatively the suit asks the defendants to compensate the plaintiffs for the decrease in their homes' value caused by their decision to locate Las Vegas size casinos next to residential neighborhoods.
The suit names as defendants the Gaming Board, its individual members, past and present, and the two casino operators.
The plaintiffs, 4 community groups and 10 individuals, allege that the way Board went about awarding casino licenses violated their constitutional right to due process. The complaint alleges that the official conduct of each member of the Gaming Board "shocks the conscience."
The largest portion of the complaint, however, concerns the conduct of former Gaming Board Chairman, Thomas A. "Tad" Decker. In 34 paragraphs, the complaint alleges that Decker's close ties to the Cozen O'Connor law firm represented a conflict of interest when it came to licensing the SugarHouse Casino, a Cozen client. Decker recused himself from the final vote on SugarHouse, but not from any of the earlier deliberations involving SugarHouse and its competitors for a Philadelphia license.
The complaint also spends 14 paragraphs alleging that Decker whitewashed a plan by Foxwoods to buy a share in an Atlantic City casino property even though: 1. the Gaming Board said that it preferred applicants without Atlantic City connections in the official rationale for its licensing decision and 2. Foxwoods told the Board in sworn testimony that because it had no Atlantic City property, its Philadelphia casino would compete "head-on" with Atlantic City Casinos.