Payback with a Capital "B"

Time now for my next installment on the gambling escapades of Louis DeNaples, his Mount Airy Casino in the Poconos and the always entertaining world of Pennsylvania politics. For my last post on his continuing saga of the doings of the Scranton mafia (alleged, of course), see It's All Who You Know (and previous posts cited there). My recent post was actually somewhat sympathetic to DeNaples, who was charged with perjury for lying about his relationship with the Scranton mob and related Philly criminals types (and friends of former Mayor John Street). My point was that all they charged him with was lying about knowing these people, not that he did anything illegal with them. Now, I'm not saying he wasn't involved in mob related activities (and I would probably be more surprised if he wasn't than if he was), but I do believe that they should have to prove that he actually did something wrong -- more than lie about who he hangs out with.

A number of fascinating issues have come out in the past few days. The first relates to the manner the licensing approval process was handled (mishandled). Because of a tiff between the Gaming Commission and the State Police over who would control the investigation into the backgrounds of applicants for casino licenses, the State Police dug in and decided not to cooperate with the Gaming Board by providing information that it had within it's possession related to Louis DeNaples. As this whole thing has evolved, it appears that the State Police put its petty squabbles ahead of the public interest.

Although the Gaming Board has received a good bit of bad press over it, it seems that it's the State Police who should be ashamed of how this matter was handled. Rather than cooperate with the Gaming Commission, they withheld information solely to make the Commission look bad, then proceeded with the own investigation, which led to DeNaples indictment. They allowed petty politics to get in the way, which led to the approval of DeNaples' license and then the embarrassment of the indictment and suspension. It's not the Gaming Board that should be criticized, but the State Police for playing games (pun intended).

The Inquirer describes the in, Police left gaming board in dark:

Months before Louis A. DeNaples received his casino license, the Pennsylvania State Police realized that he might have lied to gambling regulators, but kept it secret, the police acknowledged yesterday.

That decision meant that the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board was in the dark about the potential perjury when it voted in December 2006 to give DeNaples a license to open a $412 million Poconos slots parlor.

This week, DeNaples was charged with perjury based in part on the information that the state police knew then.

So, despite all the criticism leveled at the Gaming Board, it was directly due to the conduct of the State Police that caused the license to be granted:

In interviews, top current and former state police officials said the agency decided it could not share that evidence even though, under a deal brokered by a judge, police had agreed to pass along any damaging information about DeNaples.

State Police Deputy Commissioner Frank Pawlowski said that when troopers realized that a FBI wiretap contradicted DeNaples' gaming board testimony, troopers immediately launched their own perjury investigation. That inquiry eventually merged into the grand jury investigation that led to DeNaples' being charged, he said.

"We're not going to compromise any ongoing investigation," he said.

Thomas "Tad" A. Decker, former head of the gaming board, said he was "totally stunned" at the revelation that the information had not been shared.

"If it's true that Mr. DeNaples lied, [the state police] did a horrible disservice to the citizens of this commonwealth," Decker said.

If the state police had shared their suspicions, Decker said, the gaming board would have reopened an investigation of DeNaples and delayed any vote on giving him a license.

The other issue relates to DeNaples' alleged mob ties. That is, what was his real relationship with fellow Scrantonian & crime boss Russell Bufalino? That's the real missing piece. As I noted in It's Father Sica, not Sicko: "DeNaples pled no contest to fraud charges (after a mistrial) in the clean up from the 1972 Agnes Flood, but glosses over the jury tampering by James Osticco, a member of the Bufalino family. No connection between Osticco (and Bufalino) and DeNaples? Osticco decided to bribe the husband of a juror -- why? No one knows, but it sure couldn't have anything to do with DeNaples, right?" The Wilkes Barre Citizens Voice reports that there may be some new information related to that case. In Report illuminates DeNaples mysteries, the paper notes:

The grand jury report released Wednesday offers some new information . . . in the Louis DeNaples story — the jury-fixing in his 1977 federal fraud case. . . .

DeNaples and several other men were accused in 1977 of overcharging the federal government for relief work after the 1972 Agnes flood. Their trial ended in a mistrial when one juror held out for acquittal. DeNaples subsequently pleaded no contest in the case and paid a $10,000 fine.

But in 1983, James David Osticco, identified by prosecutors as a member of the Bufalino crime family, was convicted of paying the husband of the lone holdout juror to influence her. DeNaples was not charged in the jury-fixing case. But Wednesday’s grand jury report accuses him of “employing his organized crime contacts to fix his criminal trial.”

“The grand jury received credible evidence tending to show that Osticco acted on behalf of the Bufalino crime family as a favor to Louis A. DeNaples,” the report says.

And of course, the local papers in Scranton and Wilkes-Barre describe the support for DeNaples in spite of the indictments. After all, he's such a good boy, as my Italian grandmother would say. I wouldn't have expected anything else. I recall years ago, the good people from NE Pennsylvania rallied around politicians such as Dan Flood and Joe McDade when they ran into various "legal difficulties" due to political corruption -- because they brought home the money to the area. Because of the money he has contributed to various causes in the Scranton area, I wouldn't expect anything else with respect to DeNaples.

For example, because of his generous donations to the Catholic Church, his strongest support comes from the clergy. My favorite comment, Reaction to philanthropist's charges ranges from shock to silence:

Sister Mary Bonaventa, administrator of the Villa of Our Lady 50-room retreat neighboring the Mount Airy property, was at DeNaples’ side when he testified before the state Gaming Board.

Contacted at the retreat Wednesday, she said her “heart is broken” by the news, particularly on the heels of a perjury charge levied against the Rev. Joseph Sica, DeNaples’ longtime friend and confidant.

Bonaventa said the men have visited the retreat, operated by the Bernardine Sisters, several times, and that DeNaples has made donations to the facility.

She railed against the grand jury and the Dauphin County prosecutor who filed the charges, characterizing the probe as “anti-Catholic” and politically motivated.

“After all that digging, they still won’t let that good man alone, just so someone can get a feather in their cap,” she said.

See also, Dunmoreans rally behind "Uncle Louie". For another interesting look at the other side of DeNaples, see, The Daily Rant by Dave Ralis, Who is Louis DeNaples?.

And various papers have carried the apology of DeNaples regarding his insensitive remark during the Grand Jury proceedings that "all black people look alike" that I commented upon in my previous post. See, e.g., DeNaples issues apology. DeNaples apologizes, but also tries to provide a flimsy excuse for the remark, adding the "some of best friends are black" justification to assure everyone that he's not a bigot.

Finally, from the Allentown Morning Call's Blogging with Bill White, comes the Louis DeNaples Top 10. A few of my favorites (you have to go there to see the rest):

10. Careful examination of “The Sopranos” shows framed photo of DeNaples hanging on Bada Bing wall.

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8. Bullet-riddled corpse of his paperboy discovered after his Times-Leader was thrown in puddle.
7. Stupidly joined “Friends of La Cosa Nostra” Group on Facebook.

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4. Every time he attends a christening, five mob leaders are murdered.
3. They exhumed Russell Bufalino and found “Louis BFF” tattoo on his arm.

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1. Will drive 10 miles out of his way to avoid a toll booth.