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Casino Security Voyeurs Censured

ATLANTIC CITY, New Jersey – As reported by the Press of Atlantic City: "Two video voyeurs who used surveillance cameras at Caesars Atlantic City to spy on female employees and customers were reprimanded Wednesday by state gaming regulators.

"Peter Pallitto had his gaming license suspended for five days and Paul Reyes was fined $500 for their roles in what the Casino Control Commission described as the first incident of its kind in Atlantic City's 27-year history of gaming.

"Both men were part of the surveillance staff at Caesars overseeing the so-called "eye in the sky" security cameras that are supposed to be used to monitor the casino floor and other sensitive areas for cheating, theft or other suspicious activity.

"Instead, they recorded footage of "selected parts of the anatomy of several females" while the women were sitting at gaming tables or riding escalators at the Boardwalk casino, gaming investigators alleged.

"Acknowledging his involvement in the incident, a contrite Pallitto said he should have stopped the surveillance employees under his supervision from spying on women.

""I'm sort of getting the brunt of this because I was the supervisor and should have known what the others were doing," Pallitto said in an interview after the commission voted to suspend his license. "I should have handled it differently, but I didn't. Now I'm paying the price."

"Reyes did not attend the commission meeting and could not be reached for comment afterward.

"Surveillance tapes made at Caesars on the night of Sept. 15-16, 2000, and on March 9, 10 and 11, 2001, focused on women wearing low-cut necklines and other revealing clothing.

"Investigators from the state Division of Gaming Enforcement confiscated copies of the video after being tipped off by a Caesars surveillance supervisor.

"After the incidents were uncovered, Caesars fired Pallitto and suspended Reyes for three days without pay. Pallitto now works as a surveillance camera operator at the Trump Taj Mahal Casino Resort, while Reyes is no longer employed in the gaming industry.

"Last month, Caesars was fined $80,000 by the Casino Control Commission for violating statutes governing the use of surveillance equipment for its part in the incident.

"The company, which did not contest the fine, has declined to comment on the case.

"The commission dealt with Pallitto and Reyes individually Wednesday. In addition to suspending Pallitto's license, the commission voted to place a letter of reprimand in his employee file.

"Commission Chair Linda M. Kassekert said the five-member board considered imposing harsher penalties in view of the seriousness of the incident.

"What ultimately swayed the commission not to revoke Pallitto's license altogether was his cooperation in the investigation, Kassekert said. She added it would have been meaningless to suspend or revoke Reyes' license because he is no longer a casino employee.

"Noting that the spying incident apparently is unprecedented in Atlantic City's casinos, Kassekert vowed that the commission would do everything in its power to protect female employees and customers from sexual harassment.

""I think we will look at this issue very seriously," she said.

"The Caesars case was prompted by complaints to the state Division of Civil Rights in 2001 by two former employees, both women, who worked in the casino's surveillance department.

"Madeline J. Tinney and Lois J. Dobron alleged in their civil- rights complaint they were fired from Caesars in retaliation for blowing the whistle on the illegal videotaping.

"A spokesman for the Division of Civil Rights said that Caesars agreed recently to pay about $95,000 to settle the Tinney-Dobron case.

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