Licensing recommended for casino exec with tax problems

Wednesday, June 21, 2000 | 10:42 a.m.

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

ATLANTIC CITY -- A casino executive who fudged his tax returns should have his license renewed anyway, New Jersey's top casino regulator said.

James Hurley, chairman of the state Casino Control Commission, said Monday that Mirage Resorts Inc.-Atlantic City president Mark Juliano demonstrated "extremely poor judgment and an acute lack of sensitivity regarding his financial reporting responsibilities."

But Hurley said the problem wasn't serious enough to deny Juliano a license to work in New Jersey casinos.

Mirage is a subsidiary of MGM Grand Inc. of Las Vegas.

Juliano, 44, of Haddonfield, a former president of Caesars Atlantic City Hotel Casino, wrote off $8,965 for a "phantom" personal computer, reported gambling losses as a business expense and told the IRS he drove 180,000 miles on a car found to have traveled only 69,000 total miles, according to an investigation by the state Division of Gaming Enforcement.

Juliano paid $1.4 million in taxes on $3.7 million in total income for 1995, 1996 and 1997, or $55,996 less than he would have if he had filed accurate information about his business expenses, the DGE said.

The returns were prepared by an out-of-state CPA who was a gambler at Caesars, with input from Juliano.

Hurley, who chaired a hearing on the matter, said he found Juliano remorseful and that he was fit to be licensed.

"Applicant's cavalier attitude toward his income tax obligations and the need for accurate record keeping, which caused the recent turmoil in his life, cannot be condoned nor will it be tolerated in the future," Hurley wrote in a 20-page decision.

The four-member Casino Control Commission was to decide today whether to accept Hurley's recommendation and renew Juliano's license.