“Most people can’t connect the dots or they’re not trying to connect the dots,” Ward 7 activist Ron Moten said after last week’s hearing on Internet gambling parlors throughout the District, including near the White House and Capitol. “This isn’t just about D.C., this is about the whole country,” continued Moten. If Intralot, the Greek gaming corporation currently operating the District’s lottery, successfully rolls out its “virtual” casinos, contracts with other cities and billions of dollars could follow.
The connections scream for attention: Individuals in the District, with financial backing from Caribbean businessmen, sought in 2004 and 2006 to bring 3,500 video slot machines to the city. A savvy coalition of residents blocked those efforts. The pro-gambling crew promised to return in 2008. It appears they may have chosen an inside game instead.
In 2008, Michael A. Brown, a lifelong Democrat and proponent of legalized gambling, strategically morphed into an independent and won a D.C. Council seat. That same year, Chief Financial Officer Natwar Gandhi decided to change the city’s lottery contractor. A partnership involving friends of then-Mayor Adrian M. Fenty won the bid.
But council members, led by then-Chairman Vincent C. Gray, blocked approval of that agreement. Eric Payne, a CFO contract manager, subsequently accused Gandhi and Gray of “favoritism, interference, and intimidation.” Payne was fired and sued the city.
Pushing aside what many saw as legitimate winners, Gandhi sought new bids. He selected Intralot, which at the time didn’t have a minority-local partner as required by law. Somehow, it connected with Emmanuel Bailey’s Veteran Services Corp., whose friends allegedly include Gray and Brown. Lorraine Green — a Gray political confidante — later joined the Bailey-Intralot team.
In December 2009, the council approved the Intralot contract. At-large Councilman Phil Mendelson, the lone dissenting vote, said then, “I can’t help but think the fix was in.”
Tucked away in that agreement was a clause that, when activated, gave Intralot control over Internet gaming.
Five months later, in May 2010, Brown asked Gandhi to provide revenue estimates for implementation of that Internet gambling clause, according to the CFO. That request was well before the city registered any deficit in December 2010, which Brown and Gray claimed prompted the decision to include gambling in the supplemental budget.
Most council members and District residents didn’t know then that Brown’s employer represented gaming industry interests. They didn’t know about the Internet gaming clause in Intralot’s contract. And, they didn’t know about the secret dealings of Brown, Gray and Gandhi, including the deliberate decision not to hold hearings, which surely would have ended their pro-gambling project.
Gandhi announced after last week’s hearing he would delay temporarily installation of gambling parlors at selected sites, until a community input process has been developed.
That’s not good enough. The council should repeal the law immediately.
There are too many unanswered questions about unreported relationships and the appearance of backroom deals. The city doesn’t need another scandal.
But, don’t you smell one on the way?
Jonetta Rose Barras’ column appears on Monday and Wednesday. She can be reached at [email protected].
