Casino opponents say a lawyer for the state Gaming Commission colluded with Mohegan Sun to torpedo the Hub's claim as a host community, an assertion the commissioner leading the deliberations on the Boston-area casino license called "absurd."
"The idea that we can't ask questions of our applicants and find out what is in the application, and what they mean by parts of the applications, is absurd," said James McHugh, who assumed the role of chairman on the Boston license decision after Stephen Crosby recused himself last week. "We have to be able to do that."
In a letter filed yesterday with the state Inspector General, Matt Cameron, a lawyer for No Eastie Casino, said an April 28 phone call by a commission lawyer to a Mohegan lawyer to discuss a Suffolk Downs lease provision "was inappropriate on its face under the commonly-understood standards applicable to any impartial tribunal's dealings with parties before it."
The call was followed by the striking of the lease provision that would have allowed Suffolk Downs — who would be landlords to a Mohegan casino on the property's Revere side — to require Mohegan to also manage the racetrack on the Boston side. This, Cameron said, could have been used to argue Boston is a host community to the casino. The commission voted May 8 to deny Boston host status drawing criticism from Mayor Martin J. Walsh, who hasn't closed the door on a lawsuit to settle the question.
McHugh described the purpose of the commission's April 28 call to Mohegan to communicate that "you ought to be prepared to talk to us about that provision at (the May 8) meeting."
Cameron said he believes the call was an attempt to quash Boston's host claims.
"I don't see why they should be able to influence the outcome, which is what this is," Cameron said.
The commission yesterday approved a schedule that would see them decide between Mohegan Sun's Revere plan and Wynn Resorts' Everett plan as early as Aug. 29. Meanwhile, Crosby said yesterday he will not bow to calls that he resign from the commission due to ties to an owner of the Everett casino land and his attending opening day at Suffolk Downs.
"I've thought it through, and I've talked about it with the commissioners, and we have all agreed that there is absolutely no reason on earth to do that," Crosby said. "Sure, I thought about it, and it's not gonna happen."
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