The casino lobbyist who last month inflamed Maine lawmakers against casino developer Shawn Scott by claiming he worked for Bridge Capital, which has connections with Scott, said last week he was mistaken.
Veteran lobbyist Dan Riley made that first statement during legislative hearings on a measure funded by Scott’s sister that is headed for the November ballot—and which would authorize a third casino in the state, one that only Scott would be qualified to develop.
Riley sent a letter to the Legislature’s Veterans and Legal Affairs Committee last week saying he was in error when he said he was hired by Bridge Capital, a company based in Saipan that lists Scott as a principal. Riley said that he instead works for Universal Capital, and that he doesn’t know who owns that company.
Riley wrote April 28, “We had assumed and understood that Universal Capital was a single-purpose limited liability company and a subsidiary of Bridge Capital. We have no knowledge, however, of the actual ownership of membership interests in Universal Capital.”
At that time that he introduced himself to the lawmakers as the lobbyist for those wanting to put the casino measure on the ballot, Riley complained that he had been hired on very short notice and without much information.
The ballot measure would authorize a casino in York County. Because of the closely worded initiative, only Scott would be qualified to build the casino. Scott funded a similar measure in 2003, when voters authorized the building of what is today the Bangor Hollywood Slots casino. Although Scott won the right to build that casino, he sold the rights to Penn National.
Campaign finance documents show that several backers put on the $4.3 million that financed the signature gathering effort. The largest donation came from Scott’s sister Lisa Scott. Neither sibling is mentioned in Riley’s letter, which only notes that the company he works for is Universal Capital. However, Universal has the same executives and some owners a Bridge Capital.
When Riley testified that he represented Bridge Capital, that set off a fire storm of criticism, where the company’s overseas casino holdings have come under considerable criticism. Including the fact that one casino in Laos was seized by the government on charges of corruption.
Bridge Capital claims that it was cleared of any wrongdoing by a court in Northern Mariana, and implies that it was being harassed because it representatives wouldn’t pay bribes.
In his letter Riley explained that his law firm worked for Universal Capital when it tried to acquire the racetrack Scarborough Downs.
He wrote, “We later began discussing the possibility of working with Universal Capital on the campaign being conducted by Horseracing Jobs Fairness. We had believed that we had also served as counsel to Bridge Capital because the people with whom we were dealing on the real estate and potential lobbying matters included owners, executives or employees of Bridge Capital.”
Horseracing Jobs Fairness is the campaign financed by Scott. It has been criticized by state ethics regulators for possibly violating state law in the way it reported its finances.
The campaign could face fines of as much as the entire $4 million that it has spent on the campaign so far—due to late filings.
