Gaming News

Jury Side with Casino Investors

MINNESOTA – As reported by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: "A jury Tuesday awarded more than $242 million to a group of investors in a failed plan to develop an Indian casino in Kenosha.

"The defendants were three partners in Nii-Jii Entertainment, a firm created to develop the Paradise Key casino for the Menominee Nation at the site of the Dairyland Greyhound Park racetrack. The Paradise Key casino management firm also was a defendant.

"The jury found defendants Morgan Murphy Jr., Morgan Murphy III and Robert D. Boyle had failed to disclose Murphy Jr.'s past business links to two Chicago crime figures.

"In addition, the jury found that the main developers of the casino - the Murphys and Boyle - had committed securities fraud, mail fraud, theft, embezzlement and racketeering in connection with their concealment of the links to John Serpico and John Credidio, described in the civil complaint in the case as 'two persons of notorious and unsavory reputation' for their involvement in an unrelated kickback scheme.

"…The ties to crime figures meant likely failure of the casino deal because of the insistence by gambling regulators on squeaky clean backgrounds of casino officials.

"…The plaintiffs, Nii-Jii investors Dick Platt, Al Cohl and others, were awarded $21.5 million and Nii-Jii was awarded $220.9 million, according to plaintiffs' attorney George Kersten…"

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