WMR: Romney "family values" campaign cash siphoned from Chinese gamblers

WMR has discovered that the campaign of GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney has been receiving campaign cash donations from U.S.-owned casinos in the Macau Special Administrative Region, mostly though the auspices of Republicans Abroad, which maintains a large and active chapter in Hong Kong that also covers expatriate Republicans in Macau and the Guangdong province of southern China.

Three of the six casino operators in Macau are American-owned: Sheldon Adelson's Sands China, Steve Wynn's Wynn Resorts casino, and MGM, which is owned by private investors. Gambling is legal in Macau and the casinos draw millions of visitors from countries where gambling remains illegal: China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and a number of other countries in the region. Adelson and Wynn are supporters of the Republican Party.

Although Macau has instituted a "responsible gaming" program that seeks to deter gambling addicts, the Chinese are avid gamblers and the number of pawn shops in Macai attests to the fact that many Chinese and Hong Kong residents will hock everything from their wedding rings to expensive wristwatches to hit it big at the casinos.

Romney frequently talks about his commitment to "family values," yet his campaign is flush with money from Chinese gamblers whose addictions have broken apart families through divorce and even suicide.

Although Macau gaming authorities ensure that the casinos pay 42 percent tax to the Macau government, there are no tax declarations, such as those required by the Internal Revenue Service in the United States, made by casino winners, including high-stakes gamblers, at the Macau casinos.

In a variation of the infamous 1960s-era Las Vegas "skim," which saw the Italian mob pocket before-tax casino profits, the Macau skim that profits the Romney campaign is through tax-free winnings by high-stake gamblers in super-private VIP rooms. The unreported cash winnings are laundered through the maximally-allowed donations from southern China's Republicans Abroad, which is based in Hong Kong.

What is even more astounding is that the FBI's Legal Attache's office in Hong Kong is aware of the unique skim.

An agent from the FBI's Hong Kong office frequently travels to Macau to meet with security officials of the U.S.-owned casinos. WMR has learned from Hong Kong intelligence sources that the FBI has an arrangement with the Adelson-owned casinos to conduct covert surveillance operations of high-value guests, including senior Chinese government officials.

In return, the FBI has looked the other way as taxable cash "won" by Republicans abroad is funneled into the Romney campaign as legal "private" donations.

One ex-FBI agent who headed up security for the Sands Macau at its start-up in 2004 left his job after discovering certain practices that he termed "scary."

Adelson has been a multi-million dollar donor to the presidential campaigns of Romney and Newt Gingrich. However, partly as a result of the Supreme Court's Citizens United decision that recognizes corporations as people as far as political donations are concerned, campaign cash can be derived from a variety of sources, although foreign donations remain illegal.

What has been established in Macau is a virtual foreign cash source for Romney, one that has the appearance of legality through Republicans Abroad, but which is, nevertheless, illegal.

Adelson and Wynn have been at the center of an investigation over the payment of bribes to Macau officials.

The Adelson matter arose from charges made by the former CEO of Sands China, Steve Jacobs, after he was fired by Adelson. Jacobs charged that Adelson wanted to increase the availability of prostitutes at his Macau casinos: The Sands, The Venetian, the Sheraton Cotai Central, and The Plaza, to increase profits, which are generally down in Macau.

However, WMR found no evidence of rampant prostitution at Sands properties. Sands security appears to run a tight ship on the prostitution angle.

Bad Bet for Florida: It Doesn't Take A Kid, Duh!

Uploaded by BadBetforFlorida on Jan 25, 2012

A hard-hitting ad exposing significant pitfalls of Florida mega-casino legislation.

License: Standard You tube

The GOP response to the sour economy that it created has been to weaken labor laws and to introduce vice industries like gambling into states.

In the past, the Florida lottery was offered as a solution for education funds for primary and secondary schools. CBS news pointed out:

After 50 cents of every gambled lottery dollar is given back in prize money and operating expenses swallow another 20 cents, on average, leaving just 30 cents of every lottery dollar going back to the state. 

Lotteries do help, but not nearly as much at you may think. Even when proceeds are earmarked for education, lotteries generally cover only a fraction of state education spending.


source: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/09/17/cbsnews_investigates/main3269456.shtml

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Atty. Gen. Pam Bondi opposes expansion of gambling in Florida

Pam Bondi, Fl Attorney General 

TALLAHASSEE.—Attorney General Pam Bondi is opposed to the expansion of gambling in Florida. She said

“I believe that authorizing mega-casinos would take our state in a
fundamentally wrong direction. We need less gambling in our state, not
more.

As a former prosecutor, I share the concerns of law enforcement that
authorizing mega casinos will lead to increased crime. I cannot stand by
and watch the groundwork being laid for casinos to exist throughout our
state. Specifically, I’ve spoken with law enforcement officers who have
confirmed that casinos are a magnet for money laundering.

It’s been suggested that allowing mega casinos in South Florida is the best
way to ensure that there is no further expansion of gambling. But that
argument reminds me of the sales pitch for the Seminole Compact just a few
years ago. We were told that giving the Seminoles exclusive rights to
casino gambling would be so lucrative for Florida that there would be no
more expansion of gambling. Yet here we are, only a short time later,
being asked to go along with yet another massive expansion.

Allowing mega casinos in South Florida will only serve to justify the next
push for even more gambling in other parts of Florida.

Under the terms of Florida’s compact with the Seminoles, authorizing
mega-casinos in South Florida would give the Seminoles the legal right to
convert the Tampa Hard Rock into a full-blown, Vegas-style casino.

I thank Commissioner Adam Putnam, State Attorney Brad King, and Steve Casey
of the Florida Sheriff’s Association for standing alongside me in
opposition to the expansion of gambling.

I think about the promise of Florida and about what kind of state my niece
and my nephews will grow up in. As we move forward, I hope we can all work
together to grow our economy and create jobs the right way.”

Rightardia applauds the Attorney General. The FL attorney General, Chief Financial officer (CFO) and the Agricultural Commissioner are elected officials who don't work directly for Gov. Rick Scott. 

Certainly building more casinos would provide short term benefits to the construction and perhaps the travel industry. But in the long term gambling increases crime and has a long term negative effect on Florida  families. 

There have been two plebiscites on this issue and Floridians said "no." Gov. Scott needs to read the voter's lips. Rick Scot is puttting "business friendly" before "family values." 

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