Fight for Casino Loot Heats Up; Trump Has Yet to Sign Off on Fine Payment

NEW YORK CITY-David Grandeau, executive director of the New York State Lobbying Commission, tells GlobeSt.com that a month after Trump Hotel Casino Resorts agreed to pay its share of the largest fine ever imposed by the Commission, the papers have still not been signed. This news follows yesterday’s stunning filing of a lawsuit filed by Catskill Development against Park Place Entertainment, as reported by John Jordan for GlobeSt.com in Westchester yesterday, which refers to the circumstances surrounding the fine as fuel for its case.

While Trump Resorts is neither a plaintiff nor defendant in the suit, by tying the elements of the tri-state casino feud together, and Trump’s failure to sign the agreement papers to date, what becomes clear is that the issue is not only complicated, but also getting uglier. The suit, filed by well-known attorney Thomas Puccio, notes the reason Trump was fined, arguing that the company, along with its partners, worked to stump plans for a casino upstate.

The fine, $250,000 in all, stems from an ad campaign opposing the creation of Sullivan County casinos the St. Regis Mohawks have proposed. The ads were presented as messages from a group called the “Institute for Law and Society,” which was actually a Trump-backed group. The fine will be split between Trump, paying $50,000; lobbyist Roger Stone, paying $100,000; and the Institute, which produced the ads, paying $100,000. The partners will also fund $50,000 worth of advertising to reveal the facts about the previous ad campaign.