No Accreditation:Boyd Law School of Gambling,Casinos&Prostitution
Boyle, Francis
PLEASE FORWARD!
"Community Support
$7 million in private donations as of August 15, 1996
$5 million from William S. Boyd
$1 million from James E. Rogers and the Sunbelt Broadcasting Co.
$1 million from the Marnell family, Michael Gaughan, John D.
Gaughan, Warren Nelson, Sam and Pat Lionel, and Boyd Gaming Group"
" The law school's startup costs were largely bankrolled by $5 million
from William Boyd and $1 million gifts from Sunbelt Broadcasting's
James Rogers, the Marnell family, Michael Gaughan,
Jackie Gaughan, Warren Nelson, the Lionel family and
Boyd Gaming Corp. Most of those names have a direct
and proud association with the casino business." Las Vegas Review
Journal
Dear Friends:
As you can see from the above list of high rollers to the Boyd
Law School of Gambling,Casinos and Prostitution, the Gaughan Family is
prominently listed as major contributors. The John D. Gaughan listed
above is the "Jackie" Gaughan referred to below in the attached
articles dealing with his alleged ties to organized crime. I have been
informed by a source that Boyd's father was in a somewhat similar
situation. I have also been informed by two sources that there is
currently underway a Federal Investigation of the connections between
Organized Crime and the gambling/casino/prostitution industry in
Nevada.
In addition, the Lionel law firm referred to above is clearly
listed as part of the State Capital Law Firm Group. This is a cartel
of high powered law firms from almost every State in the United States
and from Canada organized for the express purpose of promoting the
legalization of gambling in all its manifestations on a national
basis: lotteries, casinos, dogs, ponies, jai alai, slot machines, etc.
And inevitably prostitution, drugs and organized crime will follow in
their wake.
It should now be quite clear that the
gambling/casino/prostitution industry in Nevada has decided to
establish its own proprietary law school at Boyd for the express
purpose of promoting,spreading and aiding and abetting
gambling,casinos,prostitution etc. on a national and then an
international basis. This industry will use the lawyers trained at
Boyd in their acknowledged Gambling and the Law Program to do this
dirty work. Once again, I submit it would be a total disaster for
American Legal Education and the American Legal Profession for the
gambling/casino/prostitution industry, let alone organized crime, to
have their own ABA/AALS accredited law school.
If you agree with me, then I would encourage you to write to Ms.
Rachelle Standard of the AALS as indicated above, and to the ABA
Journal, as indicated above, to oppose the accreditation of Boyd Law
School.
Yours very truly,
Francis A. Boyle
Professor of Law
University of Illinois College of Law
20 Year ABA Member
9/10/89 Omaha World-Herald 1B
1989 WL 3042102
The Omaha World-Herald
Copyright 1989 Omaha World-Herald Company
Sunday, September 10, 1989
News
N.J. Official Says Gaughan Showed 'Good Character'
Robert Dorr
World-Herald Staff Writer
Despite an unfavorable report by New Jersey gaming
authorities, Las Vegas casino owner John D. "Jackie" Gaughan won
approval in early 1987 to become a director of the new Showboat
hotel-casino in Atlantic City.
During a hearing before the New Jersey Casino Control
Commission, Gaughan established "by clear and convincing evidence his
good character, honesty and integrity," the commission chairman said
in 1987 in recommending approval of Gaughan.
Chairman Walter N. Read said Gaughan had met the standards of
New Jersey law to serve as a director of the company that owns the
516-room hotel and gambling casino.
The five-member Casino Control Commission voted unanimously in
favor of Gaughan and 16 others to run the Showboat, commission
spokeswoman Carol Kokotajlo said from Trenton, N.J. The casino opened
April 2, 1987.Controlling Interest
Gaughan, 68, owns a controlling interest in six Las Vegas hotels
and casinos: the El Cortez, Union Plaza, Las Vegas Club, Gold Spike,
Western and Nevada. The Omaha native also owns stock in the Showboat
casinos in Las Vegas and Atlantic City.
Gaughan is gaming consultant for Omaha Community Betterment,
picked by the City Council as the city's keno gambling operator.
Mayor Morgan vetoed that selection. Three councilmen have said
they will vote Tuesday to override Morgan's veto, and two others have
said they are leaning toward an override.
Five votes to override the veto would give the contract to
Community Betterment, owned by I.B. Ziegman, his wife Rose, son
Jerald and daughter Paula. The Ziegmans plan to sell a 50 percent
interest to Omaha developer Ben Wiesman, the company's real estate
consultant.Main Focus
At a New Jersey Casino Control Commission hearing in December
1986, the state's Division of Gaming Enforcement objected to Gaughan
and two others. Gaughan became the hearing's main focus, Read said.
In Read's 1987 pro-Gaughan comments - a copy of which was
obtained by The World-Herald last week - he disputed the gaming
division's objections to Gaughan.
Read gave this account of Gaughan's start in gambling:
"Gaughan's participation in illegal gaming activities began in 1936,
when as a teen-ager he delivered scratch sheets and engaged in
bookmaking in Omaha, Neb.
"Gaughan's initial involvement in these activities is perhaps
explained by the fact that his uncle, Thomas Gaughan, was a longtime
bookmaker.
"It was through this familial relationship that Gaughan met and
began dealing with Eddie Barrick and Sam Ziegman, notorious
bookmakers and contemporaries of his uncle."
Sam Ziegman, who died in Omaha in 1984, was a brother of I.B.
Ziegman, who heads the family that owns Omaha Community Betterment.
I.B. Ziegman, Sam Ziegman and Eddie Barrick were among the
operators of the Chez Paree, an illegal gambling casino in Carter
Lake, Iowa, during the 1930s and 1940s. Iowa authorities closed the
Chez Paree in 1949, and it burned in 1953.
Jackie Gaughan "continued to participate in illegal gaming
activities in Omaha through 1951, except during his (World War II)
service in the Army," Read said. Gaughan was arrested four times for
gambling, but each time the charges were dismissed, the commission
chairman said.'Years Behind Him'
Read said he doesn't condone illegal bookmaking, adding: "Nor do
I believe that such activities can be excused because, as Gaughan
testified, illegal gambling was commonplace in Omaha at the time in
question.
"However, the fact remains that Gaughan's illegal gambling days
are 35 years behind him."
While living in Omaha, Gaughan bought a 3 percent interest in
the Boulder Club in Las Vegas. One of his Boulder Club partners was
Connie Hurley, "a bookmaker with alleged organized crime
connections," Read said.
In 1951, Gaughan moved to Las Vegas. That year, he sold his
Boulder Club interest to Hurley and bought a 2 percent interest in
Las Vegas' Flamingo casino, partly with the Boulder Club sale
proceeds but mostly with money his mother loaned him.Investment
Advice
The Flamingo casino manager in the 1960s was Chester Simms, "an
alleged associate of Meyer Lansky," Read said.
Lansky, who died in 1983, was a reputed top figure in organized
crime who became known as a financial genius for his investment
advice to underworld figures. During World War II, Lansky evaded
Iowa's anti-betting law and ran dog racing in Council Bluffs on what
later became the site of the now-defunct Playland amusement park and
car-racing track.
During the early and mid-1960s, "various individuals conducted a
major skim of cash from the count room" at the Flamingo, Read said,
adding:
"It appears that cash from the drop boxes was counted three
times a day in the Flamingo count room. On most occasions, some if
not all of the $100 bills were excluded from the count and not
recorded as casino revenue," avoiding income tax payments.Indictments
Two persons involved in the skimming testified that casino
manager Simms and Sam Ziegman were among those present in the
Flamingo count room during the skimming, Read said.
In 1971 Meyer Lansky, Sam Ziegman and five others were indicted
on charges connected with the skimming. Simms by then was dead. The
indictments against Lansky and Ziegman were dismissed because of
their poor health, Read said.
One other indictment was dismissed when that person cooperated
with authorities. The other four pleaded guilty or no contest and
received sentences ranging from a $5,000 fine to one year in prison.
Gaughan, who sold his Flamingo interest in 1967, wasn't
indicted.No Indication
The gaming division, in its report to the New Jersey commission,
contended that "in view of Gaughan's training as an accountant and
knowledge of the casino industry, together with his habit of
reviewing the Flamingo's financial performance, he knew or should
have known of the skim."
Chairman Read responded that two people who cooperated with
authorities said Gaughan didn't take part in the skimming. None of
the investigation documents indicate that Gaughan knew of the
skimming, he added.
The Internal Revenue Service estimated that $27 million was
skimmed, Read said. But no evidence shows Gaughan received any of
that money, he said.'Other Money'
Read said he believed Gaughan's testimony to the commission that
Sam Ziegman never informed him of the skimming.
Read said he had reservations about Gaughan's failure to report
one incident to Nevada authorities. In 1966, Gaughan met with
representatives of a company involved in buying the Flamingo and was
told that Morris
Lansburgh, a major Flamingo owner, had said the casino was making "a
lot of other money."
Gaughan testified that he thought Lansburgh, in saying that, had
lied in order to boost the sale price. The Gaming Division asked why
Gaughan did not discuss Lansburgh's reported statement with Lansburgh
or with Nevada gaming authorities, or take other steps to confirm or
deny it.
Lansburgh later pleaded guilty to skimming and was sentenced to
one year in prison.
Read said he agreed with the gaming division "that Gaughan's
actions in this regard were less than adequate. However, I stop
short of concluding that the incident evidences a lack of good
character, honesty and integrity."IRS Suit
The IRS sued Gaughan for 3 percent of $20 million owed in back
taxes, interest and penalties. Gaughan protested the assessment, and
the U.S. Tax Court case eventually was dismissed, Read said.
Read added: "Viewing the record as a whole, I must conclude that
Gaughan did not participate in the skim, nor am I persuaded that he
knew or should have known about it."
Read also discussed Gaughan's association with Steven Delmont,
who entered a no-contest plea in the Flamingo skimming case and was
sentenced to 60 days in prison and 305 days of probation.
Gaughan hired Delmont in 1979 or 1980 as restaurant manager at
Gaughan's El Cortez in Las Vegas. Gaughan also offered Delmont a 1
percent interest in the casino for $200,000. Delmont never could buy
that interest because his skimming conviction prevented him from
getting a Nevada gambling license.
Later, Gaughan installed Delmont as president of his purchasing
company.
Gaughan was aware of Delmont's skimming conviction when he hired
him, Read said. "However, Gaughan testified that he believed
Delmont's categorical denial that he received any skim money. . . .
Gaughan was willing to give Delmont a second chance."
Read said he believed Gaughan's testimony about his association
with Delmont.
Another commissioner, E. Kenneth Burdge, said Delmont's
participation in the Flamingo skimming was partly explained by his
fear of casino manager Simms, "who had ordered Delmont to assist in
the count."
Burdge said Gaughan often went out of his way to help people and
did that in giving Delmont a job after his skimming conviction.
"Gaughan has come a long way since his early days in Omaha and
has certainly convinced me that he will be an asset to New Jersey
gaming," Burdge said.
Gaughan
---- INDEX REFERENCES ----
NAMED PERSON: GAUGHAN, JACKIE
KEY WORDS: INVESTIGATION; GAMBLING; CITY BIDS AND CONTRACTS;
BIDS AND CONTRACTS
EDITION: SUNRISE
Word Count: 1445
9/10/89 OMHAWH 1B
END OF DOCUMENT
2/12/87 Rec. N. N.J. A39
1987 WL 4887084
The Record, Northern New Jersey
Copyright 1987
Thursday, February 12, 1987
NEWS
CASINO LICENSED OVER STATE OBJECTIONS
The Casino Control Commission granted a license yesterday to
Atlantic City's new Showboat casino-hotel, rejecting objections that
an investor in the gaming hall's parent company was unacceptable
under New Jersey law.
Commission members unanimously refused a request from the state
Division of Gaming Enforcement that Showboat Inc. be denied a license
unless it severed all ties to John D. Gaughan.
The DGE opposed Gaughan, who is also a director of Showboat,
because of his admitted involvement in illegal gambling in the 1940's
and his part-ownership of the Flamingo casino-hotel in Las Vegas in
the 1960's, when a massive profit-skimming operation took place.
The $230-million Showboat Hotel, Casino and Bowling Center is
scheduled to open next month as the 12th casino in Atlantic City
since gambling was legalized in 1976.
Commission members said they accepted Gaughan's testimony that he
was unaware of the skimming, and praised Gaughan for later hiring a
man convicted of taking part in the operation.
Gaughan's decision to later hire his former Flamingo employee,
Steven Delmont, had been presented by the DGE as evidence Gaughan may
have felt he owed a debt to those participating in the skimming.
Commission Chairman Walter N. Read and Commissioner E. Kenneth
Burdge praised Gaughan as a thoroughly honest businessman whose
trusting nature sometimes led him into undesirable situations.
"I am sure that every town in this country wishes that it had an
upstanding citizen like Jackie Gaughan at the forefront of its
charitable and civic endeavors," said Commissioner E. Kenneth Burdge.
State investigators, who sought to prove extensive links between
organized-crime figures and both Gaughan and Joseph Kelley,
Showboat's board chairman, said they were "disappointed" by the
decision.
DGE Director Anthony J. Parrillo said the commission, in praising
Gaughan, missed the point of his 3 percent ownership in the Flamingo
when an estimated $27 million was taken from the counting room over a
seven-year period.
"It was not whether he [Gaughan] was involved in the skimming, it
was whether he knew or should have known," Parillo said. "That's the
question that the commission didn't seem to consider, then or now."
Gaughan, who admitted during earlier testimony before the
commission that he had taken part in his family's illegal gaming
operations when he was a teen-ager in Nebraska in the 1940's, was
congratulated by Showboat directors immediately after the commission
vote.
"I think they used good judgment," Gaughan said of the
commission. "I feel I'll do a good job for Showboat."
---- INDEX REFERENCES ----
KEY WORDS: NEW JERSEY; GAMBLING; GOVERNMENT; LICENSE
STORY ORIGIN: LAWRENCE
EDITION: ALL EDITIONS.=.BERGEN SOUTH. BERGEN NORTH. BERGEN.;
PASSAIC- MORRIS
Word Count: 409
2/12/87 RECNNJ A39
END OF DOCUMENT
12/18/86 Omaha World-Herald (Pg. Unavail. Online)
1986 WL 4259383
The Omaha World-Herald
Copyright 1986 Omaha World-Herald Company
Thursday, December 18, 1986
News
Hearing for Casino License Ex-Omahan's Crime Ties Subject of N.J.
Testimony
AP
fis
Harry Reid, Nevada's newly elected U.S. senator, testified on
behalf of Showboat Inc. at a hearing Tuesday on Showboat's
application for an operating license for its new Atlantic City
casino.
""Showboat was known by us as one of the better operations in
Nevada,'' Reid, former chairman of the Nevada Gaming Commission, told
the New Jersey Casino Control Commission.
Construction of Showboat's $230 million casino hotel in Atlantic
City is almost completed, with a target opening date of February,
said officials of the Las Vegas, Nev.-based company.
Reid said he informally knew Joseph Kelley, Showboat's board
chairman, whom he described as an honest individual with a good
reputation in Nevada.
Reid elaborated on his 20-year relationship with Showboat
corporate director John ""Jackie'' Gaughan, a former Omahan whose
ties to organized crime are being questioned by the Casino Control
Commission.
Gaughan contributed $1,500 to Reid's last campaign, the
senator-elect said, although Showboat Inc. supported his opponent.
Another person testifying at Tuesday's hearing was Showboat vice
chairman J. Kell ""Ike'' Houssels Jr., son of the late J. Kell
Houssels Sr., a Nevada gaming pioneer whose ties to organized crime
are being examined by the commission.
Houssels, 64, said he did not know his father made investments
for him in questionable Nevada gaming establishments until the
earnings were reported in income tax returns.
Houssels described his relationship with his late father as
distant. As a lawyer, Houssels said, his only contact with his
father was in common investments.
Houssels also testified that he had no idea his father was
involved in the Nevada Tax Commission hearings in 1948 or the
Kefauver organized-crime hearings in 1951 until the New Jersey
Division of Gaming Enforcement interviewed him as part of Showboat's
application for a casino license.
Showboat's license hearing resumes today.
---- INDEX REFERENCES ----
STORY ORIGIN: LAWRENCEVILLE, N.J.
EDITION: BULLDOG
Word Count: 296
12/18/86 OMHAWH (No Page)
END OF DOCUMENT