ABRAMOFF for DUMMIES
03 January 2006 11:29 am by Taylor Marsh
ABRAMOFF for DUMMIES
“… One such example is the case of Suncruz casinos
based out of Florida. Florida authorities, particularly Attorney General Butterworth,
have repeatedly reprimanded Suncruz casinos and its owner Gus Boulis for taking
illegal bets, not paying out their customers properly and has had to take
steps to prevent Suncruz from conducting operations all together. In fact,
a few years ago the Broward County Sheriffs Office, under the supervision
of Mr. Butterworth, raided Suncruz ships, seizing their equipment. …”
– Ohio
Congressman Bob Ney (Republican)
Why would Congressman Ney single out Gus Boulis in the Congressional Record?
Many have covered this story, long before Jack Abramoff went down today. Slate
has stories on it. Josh
Marshall has plenty, too. TNR's
The Plank covers today's developments.
The short story version, for those who don't know the ins and outs, or are so confused by the ins and outs they've missed the meat, is that Gus Boulis was a Greek who joined the Merchant
Marines and fled to Canada. Eventually, he ended up in Florida, after making
millions in the fast food sub sandwich biz, which he again parlayed into more
sub sandwich shops in Miami, which he eventually sold to Nathan's. The sale
allowed him to buy up property in Miami, as well as create SunCruz
in 1994.
SunCruz was a sweet deal, where Boulis would take the ship into international
waters where his passengers could gamble legally for a hefty price. However, the authorities had raided
Boulis' ship, saying he was within Florida waters, partly egged on, it seems,
by local Florida residents who didn't like SunCruz anchored in their area.
But Boulis had bigger problems, namely that he was not a U.S. citizen, which
violated the shipping code disallowing anyone not a citizen from owning American
commercial vessels. In 1998 Boulis was indicted.
However, Boulis worked out a secret deal where he would sell his interests
in SunCruz, pay a fine and walk away without time in jail. So, Boulis needed
a buyer. See where this is going?
Conveniently enough, Boulis' lawyer, Art Dimopolous, knew a lot of people,
including a famed lobbyist for his own firm, Preston Gate Ellis & Rouvelas
Meeds, Jack Abramoff. Besides, what could be more perfect? Jack was already
tied into gaming with the Indian tribes, so SunCruz seemed like a perfect match.
Unfortunately, Preston Gates actually had ethics laws that prohibited Jack from
getting involved directly. But that didn't stop him. It just made him look for
more creative ways to get his casino cut.
Enter Ben Waldman and Adam Kidan, old friends of Jack going back to his College
Republican days. But Kidan was the main man in the deal with Jack, and boy what a piece a work he is, which we'll deal with in another installment.
One of the problems that evolved as the deal progressed, was that Boulis just
couldn't let go. This violated his deal with the government and didn't make
for smooth running with his partners either.
According to the Weekly Standard and the Washington Post's Susan Schmidt and
James Grimaldi, among others, this is when Jack & Co. had to turn up the
pressure on Boulis.
Enter Bob
Ney's remarks put in the Congressional Record, where he criticizes Gus Boulis,
which happens over and over again and on the record.
Mr. Speaker, how Suncruz Casinos and Gus Boulis conduct
themselves with regard to Florida laws is very unnerving. But the consumer
rights issue is even more disheartening. On December 1, 1998, the Broward
County Sheriffs department announced that they had uncovered evidence that
dealers on SunCruz ships were “cheating passengers by using incomplete
decks of cards.” This type of conduct gives the gaming industry a black
eye and should not be tolerated.
Later, however, a miracle occurs. SunCruz is exonerated of all problems because
there are now new owners. I don't have to tell you who those new owners were, now do I? Ney updates his remarks to reflect the change in reality.
Since my previous statement, I have come to learn that SunCruz Casino now
finds itself under new ownership and, more importantly, that its new owner
has a renowned reputation for honesty and integrity. The new owner, Mr. Adam
Kidan, is most well known for his successful enterprise, Dial-a-Mattress,
but he is also well known as a solid individual and a respected member of
his community.While Mr. Kidan certainly has his hands full in his
efforts to clean up SunCruz's reputation, his track record as a businessman
and as a citizen leads me to believe that he will easily transform SunCruz
from a questionable enterprise to an upstanding establishment that the gaming
community can be proud of.
Adam Kidan, on behalf of Jack Abramoff, has cleaned up SunCruz! Hallelujah.
But just what did Representative Bob Ney get for his speeches in Congress?
He didn't do it for nothing.
