Monday, June 2, 2003 | 11:11 a.m.
Two officials who say they were terminated by The Mirage because of the property's failure to file thousands of cash transaction reports are suing the resort, claiming the company breached employment contracts by firing them "without cause."
The lawsuits, both filed in April, are the latest development in a case that has so far yielded the greatest-ever fine against a casino by Nevada regulators. Two weeks ago, The Mirage agreed to pay the Gaming Control Board $5 million for failing to file nearly 15,000 Currency Transaction Reports with the federal government from April to October in 2002 and from November 2002 to January 2003.
Nevada casinos are required to file the reports, aimed at preventing money-laundering, for each transaction of $10,000 or more.
The Nevada Attorney General is pursuing a separate criminal case against Christopher Morishita, the Mirage employee in charge of filing the reports. An affidavit filed against Morishita claims he intentionally lied to superiors and auditors about having filed the forms to hide the fact that he was months behind.
In the first suit, former Mirage Chief Financial Officer Robert Kocienski claims he was terminated on or around Feb. 21 without cause.
The Mirage has not paid Kocienski's salary for the remaining term of his employment contract, which ends June 2, 2006, says the complaint filed in late April. The Mirage also has cut his health insurance benefits and has failed to continue to vest previously granted stock options, the suit said.
On or around Feb. 4, Kocienski received a call informing him that The Mirage was behind in filing Currency Transaction Reports with the federal government. The following morning, after a meeting with "several other agents and/or employees" of The Mirage, Kocienski determined that the Gaming Control Board needed to be alerted about the reporting failures, the suit says.
Kocienski called the Gaming Control Board and set up an appointment to discuss the problems with agents that day. Later that day, Kocienski met with Mirage President William McBeath, who became upset that Kocienski had not informed McBeath of the problem before notifying the Gaming Control Board, the suit said. McBeath told Kocienski to cancel the meeting, then instructed Kocienski to leave the meeting as scheduled but that McBeath and Bobby Baldwin would be attending the meeting with the Gaming Control Board instead of Kocienski, it continued.
Baldwin is chief executive of Mirage Resorts Inc., a subsidiary of MGM MIRAGE.
In an answer to the complaint, The Mirage said that Kocienski received information from a Mirage employee on Feb. 4 regarding a potential problem with delinquent reports. But Kocienski was aware of the problem "at least as early as 2002" and was let go "for cause," The Mirage said.
The Mirage also said that Kocienski and the employee met with McBeath the following day and that Kocienski was notified that McBeath and Baldwin would instead attend the meeting with the Gaming Control Board. The company denies the other characterizations of Kocienski's complaint and calls his claims "vague and ambiguous."
"The damages sustained by plaintiff, if any, were proximately caused by his own willfull acts, negligence or omissions," the Mirage reply said. "Any actions taken by (The Mirage) were proper, legitimate, justified, reasonable, and based upon good faith and were not motivated by hate, malice or ill-will or with the deliberate intent to injure (Kocienski)."
Kocienski is seeking general damages as well as punitive damages.
In the second suit, former Mirage controller Brian Burtenshaw claims he was terminated on or around Feb. 19 without cause. Burtenshaw also says the Mirage hasn't paid his salary for the remaining term of his contract, which ends Jan. 21, 2004.
The company also has cut his health insurance and failed to vest previously granted options, the suit said.
Burtenshaw is mentioned in the Attorney General's affidavit against Morishita as saying he learned Morishita's department was behind during summer 2001. Several weeks later, Burtenshaw said, Morishita told him that "everything was up to date."
The Mirage has not yet responded to Burtenshaw's complaint.
Representatives for the Mirage and the Las Vegas attorney for both Kocienski and Burtenshaw could not be reached for further comment.
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