Wynn hits Trump with suit

John Wilen

Wednesday, April 21, 1999 | 11:07 a.m.

It seems the long dispute between casino moguls Steve Wynn and Donald Trump will never die.

Wynn's Mirage Resorts Inc. filed a District Court suit alleging Trump Hotel and Casino Resorts participated in a conspiracy to misappropriate Mirage trade secrets and divert Mirage customers and potential customers to Trump resorts in Atlantic City.

Also named in the suit were former Mirage employees Laura Choi and Paul Liu, Trump employee Joseph Guzzardo, New Jersey private investigator William Kish and Nevada private investigator Curt Rodriguez. Donald Trump himself was not named as a defendant.

The suit alleges that all the defendants participated in a conspiracy to steal Mirage trade secrets, including customer lists, and divert Mirage customers to Trump resorts. Choi is also accused of stealing $513,000 in Mirage funds and falsely accounting for Mirage comps.

According to the suit, Choi began working for Mirage in 1992 as the company's Korean marketing representative. Over the course of her employment she "converted" the $513,000 in Mirage funds for her own use and used company comps she falsely said were being used for other purposes, the suit says.

In addition, in June 1998, Choi disclosed confidential Mirage trade secrets, including customer lists, to Trump officials, the suit says. She was enticed to do so by Trump, Rodriguez, Guzzardo and Kish, alleges the suit.

Choi, Trump, Rodriguez, Guzzardo and Kish could not be reached for comment.

Liu began his employment with Mirage in 1995, as senior vice president of international marketing, states the suit. But while working for Mirage, "Liu and Trump agreed to divert existing and potential patrons of Mirage and its affiliated companies to Trump and to use Liu's services to gain customers for Trump," alleges the suit.

Liu could not immediately be reached for comment.

The suit accuses both Choi and Liu of breaching confidentiality and employment agreements. The other defendants are accused of participating in a conspiracy to entice Choi and Liu to give up Mirage trade secrets, and to divert customers to Trump resorts.

In total, the suit alleges 17 claims against the defendants, including misappropriation of trade secrets, breach of contract, intentional interference with contractual relations, fraud and deceit.

Mirage wants unspecified damages, and injunctions forcing the return of confidential company information and prohibiting the use of Mirage trade secrets by any of the defendants.

In a statement, Wynn promised more legal action against Trump in the future.

"The complaint in this very serious lawsuit is just the beginning (of) a series of revelations, which will follow as the case progresses" said Wynn. "What will be revealed will demonstrate the most outrageous misconduct, the most flagrant violations of law and decent behavior in the history of the resort hotel industry. The behavior of Trump Hotel & Casino Resorts and its agents will be a chronicle of activities demonstrating a complete lack of integrity. Our company intends to be relentless in the full prosecution of this case."

Last year, Mirage was fined $350,000 by the Nevada Gaming Commission for Choi's activities trying to collect Mirage gaming debts in South Korea, in violation of South Korean laws. Choi was arrested by South Korean officials and sentenced to a year in prison. That sentence was suspended.

Trump and Wynn have long been at odds, especially over the planned entry of Mirage resorts into the Atlantic City market. Trump and Park Place Entertainment Inc. Chief Executive Arthur Goldberg have criticized government subsidies of the costs of roadway construction to the H-Tract district, where Wynn plans to build a hotel-casino complex including Le Jardin and Borgata, a joint venture between Mirage and Boyd Gaming Corp.