Two months before Louis A. DeNaples was charged with perjury and banned from entering his Mount Airy Casino Resort, he was attempting to transfer ownership of the casino to his children and grandchildren.The request to state gambling regulators was made in November as Mr. DeNaples’ attorneys were unsuccessfully seeking a state Supreme Court order to shut down the Dauphin County grand jury that lodged a four-count perjury indictment against him this week.
Two months before Louis A. DeNaples was charged with perjury and banned from entering his Mount Airy Casino Resort, he was attempting to transfer ownership of the casino to his children and grandchildren.
The request to state gambling regulators was made in November as Mr. DeNaples’ attorneys were unsuccessfully seeking a state Supreme Court order to shut down the Dauphin County grand jury that lodged a four-count perjury indictment against him this week.
But the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board never acted on the request to sell 98 percent of the $412 million hotel/casino complex to Mr. DeNaples’ relatives, Mount Airy spokesman Kevin Feeley said.
Mr. DeNaples on Wednesday was charged by a Dauphin County grand jury for allegedly lying to state gambling regulators when asked whether he had ties to organized crime figures.
Mount Airy remains open under supervision of the Gaming Control Board, but Mr. DeNaples has been barred from the Monroe County resort.
State regulators will not act on his transfer request while Mr. DeNaples’ license is suspended due to the perjury charges, Mr. Feeley said.
Mr. Feeley said Mr. DeNaples’ main motivation for the November transfer request was his advancing age — 67. But he did not rule out that the grand jury investigation might have played a role.
“I can’t get in Louis’ head. I can’t enter his mind,” Mr. Feeley said.
Mr. Feeley said Mr. DeNaples proposed the transfer shortly after Mount Airy opened in October as a matter of “succession planning” and “estate planning.”
“Once Mount Airy was up and running, the next logical step was ‘What about the future?’” Mr. Feeley said.
“Let’s not forget Louis DeNaples is the sole owner and he’s 67.”
State oversight
State officials have, moved forward with steps to ensure the casino continues to operate in the meanwhile.
The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board has added 12 individuals — in addition to five permanent employees — to oversee operations at Mount Airy Casino Resort since the emergency suspension of Mr. DeNaples’ license, said Kevin Hayes, the agency’s director of gaming operations.
The staff additions include accountants and enforcement staff.
The emergency suspension will remain in place until a hearing Tuesday morning, when the gambling board plans to decide whether to uphold the order that was issued by its executive director, Anne Neeb. At that time, the board will likely appoint a trustee who would be responsible for ensuring the casino continues to operate.
In the meantime, it was business as usual Thursday at Mount Airy.
“I do not think that the order will have any effect on day to day operations of Mount Airy Casino,” Mr. Hayes said.
He had confidence that safeguards that are always in place at the casino will continue to promote its lawful operation.
“In the interest of being overly cautious, we have dispensed additional staff,” he said.
Members of the management team that runs the casino were not present at a press conference Thursday.
Ms. Neeb has met with the team, which includes CEO Joe D’Amato, development Vice President Lisa DeNaples — Mr. DeNaples’ daughter — and the independent audit committee in an attempt to clarify the board’s role in operations.
An escrow account has been created for Mount Airy’s profits, which generate $1.4 million in tax revenue weekly.
Contact the writers: djanoski@citizensvoice.com rheydarpour@timesshamrock.com
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