From the beginning, critics of liberal Democrat governor Ed Rendell's plan to expand gambling in Pennsylvania warned that criminal activity would be one of the dangerous consequence of introducing slot machines to the commonwealth's gaming centers.  Rendell and the Republican-controlled legislature dismissed critics of the slots plan, and proceeded to violate the state constitution and forced a new form of gaming on a leery populace desperate for property-tax relief. 

It's been four years since Pennsylvania began installing one arm bandits throughout the state and it has had one of it's first major indictments of a key player in the effort to bring slots to the Keystone State: owner and developer of the Mount Airy Casino Resort, Louis DeNaples, who was charged with lying to the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board about his purported relationship with mobsters in Northeastern Pennsylvania. 

Now, outside of the obvious fact that the DeNaples story is garnering so much attention - the romantic attachment the media has with allegations of deceit, criminal conspiracies and gambling - there are other facts about DeNaples and the undo influence of gaming money on our political system that raise additional concerns:

• In 2006, it was revealed that ex-state Senator David J. "Chip" Brightbill - who had publicly opposed the slots legislation - had received in excess of $70,000 either directly from gaming or gaming related organizations and/or lobbyists whose clients included gaming interests - including more than $20,000 from D & L Realty, of which Louis DeNaples is an owner. 

• Ex-President Pro Tempore Robert Jubelirer - who had voted against the slots legislation - not only received $10,000 from DeNaples but refused to return the money when challenged to do so by John Eichelberger, who went on to defeat Jubelirer in the Republican primary in 2006 

• According to press reports, Jubelirer called DeNaples a "respected businessman" and bemoaned the fact that DeNaples 1978 felony conviction continues to haunt him: "It's certainly unfortunate people would want to take advantage of something like that."

• In 2005, Citizens For A Better Pennsylvania (CBPA), a political action committee managed by Lebanon County Republican Committeeman and Jubelirer chief-of-staff Mike Long, received $20,000 from DeNaples' D & L Realty and RAM Consultants; the CBPA situation is made even more intriguing by the fact that several thousand dollars were then funneled to the Pennsylvania Pro Life Federation (PPLF), who subsequently endorsed both Jubelirer and Brightbill (Long's brother-in-law) for re-election in 2006

• According to press accounts Long not only solicited DeNaples for the $20,000 his PAC received but also brushed aside criticism of the money he took from the slots applicant: 
 
"[DeNaples is] a respected businessman in northeastern Pennsylvania...There were a lot of rumors (about DeNaples' interests). The real issue is whether any money was taken after (applications) were filed," Long said. "The answer is, it was not." 

Unfortunately, for Brightbill, Jubelirer and Long - around whom rumors were already beginning to swirl in relation to the legislative financial scandal referred to affectionately as "Bonusgate" - Louis DeNaples' recent legal troubles force a re-evaluation of both his past political associations.  As as trite as it may sound, the critical questions really boil down to: What did they know, and when did they know it?

• How did the anti-gaming claims of Jubelirer and Brightbill dovetail with the fact that they collected so much cash from someone who had a vested interest in seeing slots brought to Pennsylvania?  They may have claimed that DeNaples' money had no influence on their votes on the slots legislation, but that doesn't explain why the "respected businessman" continued to give him money after the slots vote. Are we to believe that there was no quid pro quo? 

• In light of their anit-slots votes, why didn't Jubelirer return the money he received from DeNaples?  And how did Brightbill get so detached from his own fundraising that he received more than $20,000 in questionable cash?  And would he have returned it had it not been brought to public light? 

• What exactly was the purpose of the CBPA's financial round-robin, and what did DeNaples and Long hope to accomplish with all of this money?  Were they trying to buy influence with the PPLF by means of a third party PAC? 

• What was the top aide for the state's top Senator doing helping to run a political action committee out of a Harrisburg post office box?  Were any other legislative aides - taxpayer employees all - also moonlighting as political puppet masters with their own committees? 

So many questions, so few answers. 

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