Vol. 5 No. 3, March 2008
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Pennsylvania casino owner indicted, stripped of license
Louis DeNaples, owner of the Mount Airy Casino Resort in Pennsylvania’s Pocono Mountains resort region, was charged last month with four counts of perjury by state prosecutors.
Immediately after the indictment was handed down, the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board announced the suspension of DeNaples’ slot license, by emergency order of board Executive Director Anne Neeb. The casino will remain open, but will be operated by a trustee. All profits will be placed in an escrow account until the case is resolved.
The Pennsylvania attorney general’s office charged that DeNaples lied to state gaming regulators when he denied having any connections with organize crime figures. The state Gaming Control Board concluded he was truthful at the time and, after concluding a background check, unanimously approved DeNaples’ slot license.
A grand jury found that DeNaples gave false responses to gaming board questions concerning ties to the late Northeast Pennsylvania mob boss Russell Bufalino; William D’Elia, a reputed mob boss in Northeastern Pennsylvania and Bufalino's onetime driver; the late Ron White, a chief fund-raiser for former Philadelphia Mayor John Street who was swept up in a broad political corruption investigation; and Shamsud-din Ali, the Philadelphia imam who was charged in connection with that corruption investigation.
The jury took testimony dozens of witnesses, including D’Elia himself, who is currently facing federal money-laundering and conspiracy charges.
