Lincoln Park charges restated; officials enter not guilty pleas

Elizabeth Zuckerman

Tuesday, Nov. 2, 2004 | 9:19 a.m.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- The former chief executives of Lincoln Park and its British parent company, Wembley Plc, entered another round of not guilty pleas Monday, as they were indicted again on charges connected to an alleged bribery scheme.

Former Wembley Plc chief executive Nigel Potter and former Lincoln Park CEO and general manager Daniel Bucci appeared in federal court Monday with their lawyers. An attorney for Lincoln Park, the state's largest gambling venue and dog track, also attended to enter an innocent plea on behalf of the company.

Potter and Bucci were both released, with no change to the conditions imposed on them after their first arraignment more than a year ago.

The new indictment against the two men and Lincoln Park replaces one issued by a grand jury on Sept. 9, 2003. Federal prosecutors say they concocted a scheme to pay million of dollars to the law firm of former House Speaker John Harwood in exchange for the state Lottery Commission allowing the park to install more video lottery machines, and for lawmakers' continued opposition to a Narragansett Indian casino. Harwood has not been charged.

Both the new indictment and the one it replaces included charges of conspiracy and wire fraud, but the new indictment lists just 15 counts of wire fraud -- six fewer counts than the previous one.

The U.S. attorney's office said the new indictment, filed in September, was necessary because of sentencing concerns raised by a recent Supreme Court decision.

However, a spokesman for the U.S. attorney said those concerns were not the reason for the reduced number of wire fraud charges. He would not comment on why the number of charges dropped.

A lawyer for the defense said Monday that they have not been told the reason for the change.

David Yas, editor of Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly, said the reduced number of charges could be because of "a number of things ... (including) that the ongoing investigation has revealed that the evidence was weaker on those charges." He said it's not unusual for prosecutors to refine their case as it proceeds toward trial.

The new indictment accuses the defendants of conspiring to pay the law firm of McKinnon & Harwood up to $4 million over five years. Previously, the government alleged the total payment was up to $4.5 million.

The new indictment offers details of the supposed correspondence between Bucci, Potter and others regarding the plan for payments to McKinnon & Harwood.

According to the indictment, Potter indicated he and others would consider paying the law firm $1 million per year in 2003-2005 if 1,000 new video lottery machines were added at Lincoln Park in 2002. Also, Potter allegedly said that if no additional machines were authorized, the $500,000 payments planned for 2001 and 2002 would cease.

The sentencing issues which prosecutors said the new indictment addresses stem from a June ruling in Blakely v. Washington. The Supreme Court held that juries must decide any matter that can lengthen a sentence beyond the maximum set out in state sentencing guidelines unless the defendant admits to it.

In response, the U.S. Justice Department told federal prosecutors they had to include more information in criminal indictments because the Supreme Court's ruling appears to give defendants a right to demand that every factor that could lengthen a sentence be put to a jury and proved beyond reasonable doubt.