Attorney general questions Rosemont decision

Maura Kelly

Friday, March 26, 2004 | 9:11 a.m.

CHICAGO -- Attorney General Lisa Madigan on Thursday threatened to stop a proposed deal that would put the state's 10th casino in Rosemont, saying the suburb and its mayor may have mob ties.

"There appear to be connections that Don Stephens and the city of Rosemont had to organized crime," Madigan said. "It's certainly something that needs to be looked at and it is something that, whoever the operator of the casino is, if that casino is going to be located in Rosemont, they have to show how they're going to be able to overcome any influence of Don Stephens, potentially any influence to organized crime."

Madigan said she is reserving the option to resume a license revocation hearing, which would stop the sale of the state's 10th and only unused casino license by the bankrupt Emerald Casino to Isle of Capri Casinos, which like Emerald plans to build in the northwest Chicago suburb.

The Illinois Gaming Board on March 15 ignored the advice of its staff and picked Mississippi-based Isle of Capri's Rosemont proposal over two other companies that wanted to build elsewhere.

Madigan on Thursday released a nine-page letter to the Gaming Board detailing her concerns about the decision and demanded answers from board members in two weeks.

Asked about Madigan's statements, Rosemont attorney Robert Stephenson said Stephens does not have ties to organized crime.

"Rosemont has never been mobbed up, is not ever mobbed up nor will it ever be mobbed up," he said. "What has been alleged has no basis in fact. Talk is cheap. Facts aren't."

The assault on the Gaming Board continued in Springfield, where the Illinois Senate -- at the urging of Senate President Emil Jones -- passed legislation to dissolve the board and replace its members. The measure now moves to the House, where speaker Michael Madigan said he would review the idea. Jones, a Chicago Democrat, was angered that plans to build the 10th casino in the struggling suburbs south of Chicago didn't even make the board's list of finalists.

The Gaming Board's decision to award the license to Isle of Capri came as a surprise because the board has been trying since 2001 to strip the license from Emerald because the board said top Emerald officials lied to regulators and some investors allegedly had ties to organized crime. One alleged to have mob ties was the Sherri Boscarino Trust, named for the wife of Nick Boscarino, a former business partner of Stephens.

Madigan said contractors with organized crime connections were used to build Emerald facilities. She also said that Stephens boasted that 5 percent of the Emerald stock was his to steer to friends. Stephenson, the Rosemont attorney, denied both claims.

"There has to be an answer to the question as to whether or not Don Stephens is going to try to influence another operator," Madigan said. "There needs to be an answer to the question of 'is that operator going to be able to say no to Don Stephens,' and, even if those two things are satisfied, can we convince the public of that."

She also outlined Stephens' involvement as a shareholder in American Trade Shows Inc., a company that provided services and leased equipment at exposition centers. Other shareholders included Nick Boscarino and others who were alleged to have ties to the mob, said Barry Gross, chief deputy attorney general.

"That association in and of itself is troubling, Mr. Stephens being partners with those individuals," Gross said.

Gary Mack, spokesman for Rosemont, called the accusations preposterous.

"Until there is some connection she can make and even a shred of evidence we can see, it's unfortunate that this stuff gets out there and gets reported," he said.

Stephens did not return a phone call for comment.

Some of Madigan's questions include why Rosemont was favored and why the board ignored the recommendation of its staff to pick another operator who wanted to build a casino in Des Plaines. Her most pointed questions were about how the board became comfortable with putting a casino in Rosemont even though it had concerns about possible mob influence when Emerald wanted to build there.

Gaming Board Chairman Elzie Higginbottom said the board has not yet conducted its suitability review of Isle of Capri, which he said would include a review of Rosemont because some land would be leased from the village.

"We have to analyze all the questions that she has in her letter and we will respond," he said.

The sale of the license still needs final approval from a bankruptcy court judge.

Gov. Rod Blagojevich on Wednesday named former Deputy U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder Jr. to conduct an independent investigation of the decision to allow the casino in Rosemont.

A few hours after that announcement, Higginbottom said he had calling on federal prosecutors to also review the board's decision.

Isle of Capri bid $518 million to build a Caribbean-themed casino in Rosemont. It was chosen over Harrah's Entertainment Inc., which bid $520 million to build in Waukegan, and Midwest Gaming and Entertainment LLC, which bid $476 million to build in Des Plaines.

Gaming Board officials said Rosemont was picked for its proximity to O'Hare International Airport, the area's abundance of hotels and restaurants, and, in part, to avoid a $45 million lawsuit filed by the city over its losses related to Emerald Casino.