Gaming Commission gives Station execs chance to talk about lawyer bonuses

Thursday, Sept. 28, 2000 | 8:53 a.m.

The Missouri Gaming Commission wants seven Station employees to give testimony, under oath, at an Oct. 10 public meeting.

"We're giving them a second chance," said commission Chairman Glen Ullery, who made the announcement Wednesday.

Instead of issuing subpoenas, the commission will ask the Las Vegas-based employees to testify simply because they and their company hold Missouri licenses.

The license for Station's casino in St. Charles expires Dec. 27, while Station's casino in Kansas City faces a Jan. 15 renewal date. Ullery told the commission's staff to prepare a full report by late next month on Station's "suitability" to hold gambling licenses in Missouri.

An attorney for Station said Wednesday that the casino was evaluating the commission's request and had made no decision on whether to testify. The lawyer, Charles German of Kansas City, said the commission already has questioned Station's executives about the matter in private sessions.

"So we continue to believe we have fully cooperated," he said.

The commission wants to know why Station paid its former attorney, Michael Lazaroff, $500,000 in bonuses from 1994 to 1996. Lazaroff testified last month that he had an inside track with the former commission chairman, Robert Wolfson.

Lazaroff, formerly a partner at Thompson Coburn in St. Louis, pleaded guilty to defrauding his law firm and is scheduled to be sentenced in federal court next week.

Station executives refused to testify at the Gaming Commission's hearing into the Lazaroff affair because they could not cross-examine him. They said the commission's subpoenas were invalid and the meeting was designed to be one-sided.

Ullery disagreed Wednesday.

"I believe it is fair to say the meeting was not one-sided and misleading," he said.

Ullery noted that officials from the President Casino on the Admiral testified at the two-day hearing last month. Lazaroff also represented the President.

Reading from a legal memo submitted by the President, Ullery said they chose to testify "because neither they nor the company have anything to hide." Lying to the commission is a felony.

Ullery said the Gaming Commission's staff report next month will examine how much Station knew about Lazaroff's dealings with Wolfson. Lazaroff testified that he had frequent contacts with the former chairman, even after the commission passed a rule prohibiting such contact. Casinos are required to report any rules violations.

Station also faces a proposed revocation of its licenses in Missouri for failing to obey the subpoenas. The company plans to appeal that discipline to a hearing officer. The officer will make a recommendation to the commission, which will review the matter again. If the company loses, it can proceed to the Court of Appeals and the Missouri Supreme Court.

Wednesday's action gave the commission another, possibly quicker, way to penalize Station. But even if the commission decides against renewing Station's operating licenses, the company could seek redress in court.