Supreme Court Allows Grand Jury to Probe Mr. Louis DeNaples' Slots License

On December 13th, 2007, the state Supreme Court may have went through legal wrangling with the state constitution when it favored the 2004 law allowing slots games and facilities in Pennsylvania. But the justices got it right about giving permission to a Dauphin County grand jury to continue looking into the details surrounding the slots license granted to the Mount Airy Casino and Resort in Monroe County.

In the month of October, Justice Ronald Castille stopped the grand jury investigation when the attorneys for Louis DeNaples petitioned for the dismissal of the jury. Mr. DeNaples was subpoenaed to testify before the jury. But the Supreme Court set aside the request of Mr. DeNaples.

Because of this decision, about 200 pages of document regarding the ongoing investigation was made public. It has been rumored that the rich businessman from Scranton has connections to crime organizations. The Justices asked Attorney General Tom Corbett about his opinion on the matter. He favored the grand jury of Mr. Marsico's.

Corbett added that the Legislature could not have implemented such bad utilization of Section 1517 of the Act. The court itself did not even study if district attorneys have a lot of power when authorized by law. The grand jury can now continue their investigation regarding Mr. DeNaples. The jury will also hear the side of Gambling Board executive director Ann Neeb.

Sunday, 23 December 2007
Alex Van Der Butz