Broadening their investigation of the troubled Emerald Casino project in Rosemont, federal officials have disclosed to state gambling regulators a secret deal to split an investment interest in the casino between a mob-linked Emerald investor and a Harwood Heights bank executive.
A federal subpoena to the Illinois Gaming Board, a copy of which was obtained by the Tribune through the Freedom of Information Act, includes a signed contract in which Emerald investor Joseph Salamone agreed to divide his $375,000 share in the casino in part with Rocco Suspenzi, vice chairman of Parkway Bank & Trust Co.
The secret agreement also lists others as part owners of Salamone’s share, including his brother Vito, identified by the Gaming Board as a crime-syndicate figure; Jeffrey Suspenzi, the banker’s son; and Suspenzi Family Corp., whose officers are Rocco and Jeffrey Suspenzi.
Illinois law prohibits hidden ownership of casinos.
The deal was consummated in September 1999, according to the documents. Since then, Parkway Bank has made more than $973,000 in donations or loans to political committees controlled by Rosemont Mayor Donald Stephens or his son, Mark, state records show.
Neither of the Salamone brothers nor the Suspenzis could be reached for comment. A man who answered the door at a home in South Barrington owned by Rocco Suspenzi declined to identify himself Tuesday. But when asked about the allegations, he said, “I have no comment to you.”
Stephens acknowledged that Parkway holds “one of many” bank accounts for his village. But the mayor who long pushed for a casino in his community said he has no ties to Rocco Suspenzi and knew nothing about the secret deal.
“If Emerald does something, it’s not the Village of Rosemont, it’s Emerald,” Stephens said. “We don’t know anything about that crap. Go after them, don’t go after the Village of Rosemont.”
In rejecting Emerald’s bid to open a riverboat in Rosemont, the Gaming Board said two years ago that some investors had lied to regulators and two others had ties to organized crime. The latter group included Joseph Salamone, the owner of an Oak Park grocery whom the board accused of essentially acting as a front for his brother in the investment.
The federal subpoena, however, indicates the deal was even more complex and involved more parties than previously known.
The 1999 agreement stipulated that Vito Salamone would give his brother $125,000 to get a secret piece of the Emerald investment, and the Suspenzis would kick in another $125,000 for their share.
Board seeks to strip license
Disclosure of the confidential deal could complicate efforts by Emerald as it attempts to win state approval to sell its license to another casino interest. Attorneys for the Gaming Board turned over a copy of the subpoena last week as evidence in an administrative law hearing scheduled to begin next month into whether Emerald should be stripped of the license.
The revelation also raises questions about whether Joseph Salamone should receive a return on the total $375,000 investment listed in his name if the Emerald license is sold. The would-be casino group and state officials agreed last year to a proposed settlement that would allow shareholders to recoup their original investment but make no profit if a sale finally goes through.
The Gaming Board has since accused Emerald of dragging its feet on implementing terms of the agreement and scheduled the license revocation hearings.
Spokesman Gene O’Shea said Tuesday that the board continues to stand firm in its pledge that “wrongdoers will not be rewarded” and said the secret agreement between the Salamones and the Suspenzis confirms that the board was correct when it refused to let Emerald open in Rosemont.
“These documents are further proof that the Gaming Board did the right thing,” he said. “Part of ensuring the integrity of gaming in Illinois is that the Gaming Board must be confident as to who owns the casinos, be it a publicly traded company or individuals.”
The board did not know about the secret deal until it received the subpoena from federal authorities last month, O’Shea said.
But board officials had always been wary of Joseph Salamone and another Emerald shareholder, Nick Boscarino, whom regulators had identified as another mob associate. Boscarino, a former business partner and friend of Stephens’, is awaiting trial on federal charges of money laundering, fraud and tax fraud conspiracy in connection with an alleged scheme to steal more than $288,000 in insurance premiums from Rosemont.
When the casino project got under way, Emerald officials submitted Vito Salamone’s name as an investor. Later, his name was replaced with his brother’s without explanation. Emerald attorneys later vowed to the board that Vito Salamone was not an investor.
The subpoena appears to back up the board’s previously aired suspicions about the Salamones. But it also shines a new light on the Suspenzis, a family never before publicly associated with the Emerald project.
Rocco Suspenzi has been with Parkway Bank since at least 1988, when he was named a vice chairman of the bank’s board. Since then, he has at times been the bank’s chairman as well.
Regulators target ownership
Because the casino industry has historically been plagued by organized-crime influence, gambling regulators in Illinois and elsewhere consider the hiding of ownership interests one of the most serious offenses a casino can commit.
The law passed more than a decade ago that authorizes riverboat casinos states that the introduction of casino gambling in Illinois would be successful only “if public confidence and trust in the credibility and integrity of the gambling operations and the regulatory process is maintained.”
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Investor allegedly split his casino share in deal
In a 1999 deal, Emerald Casino investor Joseph Salamone allegedly split his $375,000 share of the casino with his brother, two others and a corporation, according to a federal subpoena obtained by the Tribune. Illinois laws regulating gaming forbid hidden ownership in casinos.
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BREAKDOWN OF THE $375,000 INVESTMENT
CONTRIBUTOR CONNECTION AMOUNT CONTRIBUTED
Joseph Salamone Emerald investor $125,000
Vito Salamone Joseph’s brother 125,000
Rocco Suspenzi Parkway Bank vice chairman 30,000
Jeffrey Suspenzi Rocco’s son 30,000
Suspenzi Family Corp. Illinois corporation 65,000
Source: Federal subpoena to the Illinois Gaming Board
Chicago Tribune
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