BOB SALSBERG, Associated Press
BOSTON (AP) — Members of the state’s gambling commission came to the defense on Thursday of chairman Stephen Crosby, who has confirmed a state ethics probe over whether he participated in the awarding of a Boston-area casino license after publicly removing himself from the process.
Commissioner James McHugh, a retired state appeals court judge, said at the outset of a scheduled meeting of the Massachusetts Gaming Commission that he was not aware of any attempt by Crosby to intervene in the Region A selection process after recusing himself in May 2014.
The recusal came after Crosby’s acknowledgement that Paul Lohnes, a friend and one-time business associate, was a part-owner of land on which Wynn Resorts proposed to build a $1.7 billion casino in Everett. The remaining members of the five-member panel voted 3-1 in September to award Wynn the lucrative license over a competing bid from Mohegan Sun and owners of the Suffolk Downs racetrack for a casino in Revere.
“At no time after he recused himself on May 8th, did Chairman Steve Crosby offer to me, publicly or privately, any suggestion, opinion, or hint whatsoever about how any aspect or component of the Region A licensing decision should be resolved,” McHugh said, with Crosby present.
Another commissioner, Enrique Zuniga, said he felt “exactly the same way,” as McHugh on the issue.
The Boston Globe reported earlier this week that the state Ethics Commission received a sworn statement that alleged Crosby participated in the process after his recusal. The newspaper said it did not know who submitted the statement.
Crosby denied any wrongdoing.
“I am fully cooperating with what I understand to be a preliminary inquiry and I look forward to an expedient resolution of that inquiry,” Crosby said in a written statement. He declined further comment.
Ethics Commission proceedings are confidential by law.
The city of Boston has filed a lawsuit challenging the commission’s decision to award the license to Wynn, which plans to build the resort on land along the Mystic River just outside Boston city limits.
Initially filed in January and amended last month, the pending lawsuit alleges the license resulted from a “corrupt process” and claimed that members of the gambling commission changed application rules to favor Wynn.
Elaine Driscoll, a spokeswoman for the commission, said after the filing of the amended complaint that it was a “personal assault” on the panel. She said all gambling licenses were awarded only after lengthy and objective evaluations of each proposal.
The state’s 2011 gambling law allows for three regional resort casinos. In addition to Wynn, the commission awarded MGM Resorts International a license to build a casino in downtown Springfield in western Massachusetts and has accepted applications from companies proposing casinos in the southeastern region.
The state’s first gambling facility, a slots parlor at the Plainridge harness racing course in Plainville, is scheduled to open June 24.
Associated Press writer Philip Marcelo contributed to this report.
