Michael Treanor, CEO of Nevele Investors, has resigned from the leadership position just months before a decision is due on what casino projects in New York will receive a Class III gaming license. This is the second time in four months that Treanor has removed himself as CEO, according to the Hudson Valley Times Herald-Record.
He has been replaced by Angelique Brunner, an investor based in Washington, D.C. A press release from Nevele says Brunner will oversee the next phase of the Nevele project including construction, opening and operation.
“Brunner and her financial team are an important part of the project’s funding and, together with the institutional equity partner, will represent the project’s majority ownership,” the release says.
Treanor will continue to play a role in the proposed $640 million resort and casino project, but Brunner will take the helm. Treanor started the project three years ago and oversaw the Nevele’s pre-development planning process.
Brunner is president and founder of EB5 Capital, a Washington D.C.-based company that helps foreign investors gain permanent residency in the United States through investments in U.S. businesses through the federal EB-5 visa program.
The Nevele says Brunner has 15 years of experience “in community redevelopment investment activity, including experience at the National Capital Revitalization Corporation and Fannie Mae.”
“Our work to establish the Nevele project as a true destination resort that is ‘shovel-ready’ is now complete. The Nevele stands ready to bring tremendous economic stimulus to Ulster County and the Catskill region of upstate New York, and Angel’s expertise and passion for revitalizing communities and creating jobs are perfectly suited to this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” Treanor said in the release.
Treanor apparently could not go forward in a leadership position in light of an assault charge. He first quit as CEO in early May following reports that he pleaded guilty in 2007 to a third-degree misdemeanor assault involving his sister.
His sister later filed a federal civil suit alleging that an intoxicated Treanor sexually abused her, according to the New York Post. Treanor and Nevele officials called the allegations “a smear campaign.” Weeks later, Treanor returned as CEO of the project after an internal review.
At the time, David Runciman, director of Claremont Partners, developer of the proposed Catskills casino project, called the story “old news.”
According to Runciman, “We have concluded, as have regulators in the past, that Michael’s character and fitness are unimpeachable and that certain recent articles were part of a smear campaign, and we have asked him to continue in his role.”
“It’s like ‘Game of Thrones’ with the incest,” a source told the Post.
That source said Treanor’s alleged criminal history should disqualify him and the project. “The casino is a business under bright spotlights,” the source said. “You have to be clean as the driven snow. I don’t think you can get away with this running a candy store, let alone a casino.”
