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Inquiries, Politics Delayed Seminole Casino

HOLLYWOOD, Florida – As reported by the Baltimore Sun: "Donald Trump had exercised all his usual charms to land a casino-development deal with the Seminole Tribe of Florida -- hiring lobbyists, wheedling politicians, indulging tribal leaders at his Manhattan office tower -- but none of it took root, and the author of The Art of the Deal abandoned the cause.

"…Richard T. Fields, a business associate and one-time manager for Marla Maples, then Trump's wife, worked the Seminole casino project on the developer's behalf and declared it a lost cause.

"But sometime after that failed courtship with the Seminoles -- and after Fields' business relationship and friendship with Trump were 'terminated,' according to the real-estate magnate -- Fields found a new ally: Baltimore developer David S. Cordish.

"…Two Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino complexes developed by the Cordish Co. -- the fruits of a deal that Fields initiated, according to tribal officials -- will be finished in coming days.

"The resort-style facility near Tampa that opened fully Thursday, and the flagship project in Hollywood expected to open in May, are among the most envied and potentially profitable casinos in the Indian gambling industry.

"…An examination of the Seminole Tribe's casino-development deal, including a study of financial documents and court records, offers a revealing glimpse inside the boardrooms where the multibillion-dollar casino deal was crafted.

"The Cordish Co. eventually signed the deal with James E. Billie, the Seminole Tribe's alligator-wrestling chief, who was later ousted from office amid allegations of embezzlement, corruption and sexual harassment. Tribal official Timothy W. Cox -- engaged as a Cordish Co. business partner -- was arrested by the FBI, accused of squandering Seminole riches through shadowy businesses in Nicaragua and Belize, and later cleared after an abortive federal trial. The tribe's general counsel, one of the Cordish Co.'s primary contacts, was shot three times and seriously wounded as the deal neared completion.

"…There is no evidence that the Cordish Co. played any role in removing the tribe's chairman. But for more than a year, the Hard Rock development team was meeting and negotiating with the tribal attorneys and officials battling with Billie…"

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