A prominent Pennsylvania businessman and shareholder in the Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem is suing the state to challenge the law’s prohibition on anyone associated with gaming making political contributions.
Pasquale (Pat) Deon Sr., a billionaire Pennsylvania businessman with diverse holdings including beer distributors and a radio station in addition to his stake in Sands, is suing to block the law’s prohibition on political campaign donations as discriminatory against the casino industry.
Deon is a Pennsylvania Turnpike commissioner, chairman of the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority and was one of the state’s largest political donors before he bought his stake in the Sands. His lawsuit states that Pennsylvania’s 2004 gaming law’s prohibition on political donations violates his constitutional rights.
“Pennsylvania can neither demonstrate nor even plausibly assert that contributions create the reality or appearance of corruption, when it authorizes unlimited contributions outside the gaming industry,” the lawsuit says. “It is implausible to suggest that even a small contribution from a person affiliated with the gaming industry would create the reality or appearance of corruption.”
