Chicago-area casino plan rejected, mob ties cited

Wednesday, Jan. 31, 2001 | 10:30 a.m.

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

CHICAGO -- Some 20 months after lawmakers thought they had greased the skids for moving a failed East Dubuque riverboat casino to Cook County, the Illinois Gaming Board declared the deal dead in the water.

The board voted 4-1 Tuesday against plans that would have allowed the defunct riverboat's owners to switch their license to Rosemont, a northwest Chicago suburb in a prime spot close to both O'Hare International Airport and the city.

Now both the casino's owners and their opponents face months, if not years, more of legal wrangling over the state's only open riverboat license.

"The process is absolutely broken," said Kevin Flynn, chairman and CEO of Emerald Casino Inc., the casino company that had hoped to move to Rosemont.

Board Administrator Sergio Acosta recommended the license denial, saying that Flynn and his father, Donald Flynn, had made "false and misleading statements" to the board.

Acosta also said that two of the proposed shareholders have close associations with organized crime and that the mob controls at least one firm contracted to do construction at the site of the proposed casino.

"The investigative record establishes the insidious presence of organized crime elements associated with this proposed project that cannot be ignored," Acosta said.