$4M BET WAS A LOSER
Mogul’s sex case went undetected
The Massachusetts Gaming Commission has paid more than $4 million to a New Jersey law firm that led the investigation into Wynn Resorts and found the company suitable to operate an Everett casino, records show.
The lengthy investigation headed by the firm Michael & Carroll in 2013 failed to uncover a $7.5 million sexual misconduct settlement paid out by Steve Wynn that’s now at the center of the explosive scandal surrounding the casino magnate and his resorts.
The gaming commission is now leading a new probe into the sexual misconduct settlement and whether Wynn deliberately withheld it from investigators conducting the background check.
Michael & Carroll was hired as the lead consultant heading the commission’s “suitability investigation” into Wynn.
Records from the state comptroller’s office show the firm has been paid $4.14 million from 2012 through 2017. It’s unclear how much of that money went toward the background check into Wynn. All background investigations are paid for by applicants, according to the commission.
A spokeswoman said the commission relied heavily on consultants in the initial startup phase, because it had relatively few staff members or investigators. The commission has also paid out $203,694 to a travel agency, records show.
Records also show the gaming commission’s payroll has steadily increased over the years, and cost a total of $6.77 million in 2017.
There are a total of 27 staffers and commissioners earning more than $100,000, the 2017 records from the comptroller’s office show. The highest earner was Executive Director Edward Bedrosian at $185,000 annually. Chairman Steve Crosby earned $161,522 in 2017. The four commissioners make $121,000 annually. Commission spokeswoman Elaine Driscoll said the commission’s budget is paid for by fees and assessments on licensees.
The sexual misconduct scandal, first reported by The Wall Street Journal, has rocked Wynn Resorts and put its Everett casino, now under construction, in jeopardy. Investigators from the gaming commission are conducting a review of Wynn’s license, with some casino opponents calling for it to be revoked. The gaming commission first conducted a “suitability investigation” in 2013, and noted that Michael & Carroll had “extensive experience in the area of gaming investigations,” according to its 2013 report.
The investigation into Wynn concluded there were no “disqualifying factors” that would cause the commission to deny the casino mogul a license.
The commission initially hired Michael & Carroll, along with Spectrum Gaming Group, in 2012 to help get the commission up and running and develop a strategic plan. But in 2013, the commission removed Spectrum from the investigation into Wynn after the casino owner, citing a conflict of interest, objected to the consulting company. Spectrum had done previous work for Wynn on its resort in Macau, China.
But according to a lawsuit filed by the city of Boston, Wynn wanted Spectrum removed from the background investigation because the consulting firm “was well known in the casino industry for its criticism of casino operations in Macau.”