The wire fraud trial has begun for three men that federal prosecutors in Massachusetts accuse of conspiring to keep the financial interest of a convicted felon and mob figure in 33 acres that Steve Wynn wanted to buy in Everett for a casino from becoming known.
The casino mogul, who is now building the Wynn Boston Harbor on that land is listed among the prosecutor’s potential witnesses in the case.
The men, Charles Lightbody, reputed mob figure and convicted felon, and his partners Dustin DeNunzio and Anthony Gattineri are accused by U.S. Attorney Carmen Ortiz and her team of trying to hide Lightbody’s interest in the former Monsanto chemical plant land that Wynn had targeted for what would eventually be a $2 billion casino proposal. The trio face up to 20 years in prison.
The three had interest in FBT Everett Realty, which owned the 33 acres along the Mystic River directly across the water from Boston. The 2011 Massachusetts Expanded Gaming Act forbids convicted felons of getting any financial benefit from a casino. That, say prosecutors, was the motive in allegedly hiding Lightbody’s interest in the land.
Jury selection ended last week in the trial and the jury began hearing testimony. Legal experts say the trial could last as long as a month.
The trio are accused of creating false documents and backdating existing ones to create the impression that Lightbody had sold his 12 percent interest in the property several months before Wynn signed an option to buy it and paid $100,000 a month for the option to purchase the land for $75 million.
Lawyers for the defense deny any wrongdoing and accuse prosecutors of misinterpreting state law in the case. They argue that Lightbody could have legally sold his interest in the land to Wynn. If that is true, they say, no fraud occurred.
At the time of the alleged fraud Wynn was bidding for the license for the Boston metro casino, one of three casino resorts called for by the 2011 gaming expansion act.
The FBI was alerted to Lightbody’s interest in the property because he was taped while visiting with a reputed member of the Mafia, Darin Bufalino, in prison. He bragged to Bufalino about the financial killing he was going to make when the land was sold. A state prison officer was listening in on the conversation.
After his interest in the land became known, Wynn insisted on a renegotiated option on the property for $35 million, which was what the trio originally paid for it.
Because the Massachusetts Gaming Commission would have refused to issue a license to Wynn if it had known about the Lightbody involvement, federal prosecutors argue that Wynn and the commission are both victims in the fraud. Although the term “victim” may be a bit confusing, since Wynn was able to buy the property for $35 million less after Lightbody’s involvement was discovered.
According to the prosecution DeNunzio, a real estate developer, worked closely with Lightbody to create the deception, which included allegedly creating a document in July 2013 that purported to show that Lightbody had sold his interest to Gattineri in August 2012.
On the opening day of the trial Department of Correction Lt. Michael Kradolfer testified that he monitored the prison conversations of convicted Mafia member Darin Bufalino for years, but hit pay dirt in December 2012 when the felon was talking with Lightbody.
“It seemed like there was some type of concealment … an act of subterfuge,” that had to do with Lightbody’s interest in a casino, Kradolfer testified. He later alerted the FBI.
During that recorded conversation, when Lightbody complained that reporters were looking into the criminal history of a former partner of his and mentioned that the Massachusetts Gaming Commission would not allow the sale of land to Wynn if it became known that he owned part of it, Bufalino said, “You need to double-blind it. You need to triple-blind it actually.” To which Lightbody replied, “Well, that’s what we’re doing.”
Prosecutor assistant U.S. Attorney Ted Merritt told jurors that the accused attempted to pose as “squeaky clean” with altered documents.
“This case is about a scheme to hide the truth, fueled by greed,” said Merritt. “What the defendants didn’t know — or expect — is that the FBI was paying attention.”
Work on the casino is expected to begin soon and it could open its doors in late 2018.
