DeNaples beneficiaries defend donations
HARRISBURG -- Casino owner Louis DeNaples, who is facing perjury charges, donated more than $1 million to federal, state and local candidates over the past decade, records show.
Elected officials and political committees told the Tribune-Review they aren't moving to return the $1.1 million donated by DeNaples, his companies and employees since 1998. More than $900,000 of that amount was given from 2001 through 2005, when gambling was a key issue before the Legislature and in the governor's race. The state legalized gambling in 2004.
DeNaples received a license in December 2006 to operate the Mount Airy Casino in the Poconos. In January of this year, a Dauphin County grand jury indicted him on four counts of perjury. The charges include allegations that he lied in 2006 to the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board about the extent of his acquaintance with two Mob figures and two other men ensnared in a corruption probe in Philadelphia. His license has been suspended pending the outcome of the charges.
Larry Sabato, political science professor at the University of Virginia, has seen politicians from governors to presidential candidates deal with the issue of tainted campaign money.
"There's only one good rule: Return the money by certified mail, immediately," Sabato said. He noted that Hillary Clinton gave more than $800,000 to charity that had been raised by fugitive fundraiser Norman Hsu, who faces federal charges for alleged fraud and campaign finance violations. Barack Obama returned more than $150,000 tied to Chicago's Tony Rezko, who is accused of extortion and money laundering.
DeNaples' spokesman Kevin Feeley pointed out the donations were made more than two years before DeNaples was accused of a crime.
"Mr. DeNaples is innocent of the charges that have been filed against him," Feeley said. "They were legal contributions when they were made. We believe, in the end, they will continue to be seen in that light. I see no reason why people should give them back. This is just a way to create controversy where none exists."
"There was never anything hidden about" the contributions, Feeley said. "They were ... recorded under the proper campaign election law guidelines. They are perfectly legitimate."
Sabato and other political observers say that doesn't matter in politics, where appearance is as important as reality.
"To have contributions going to people who could have an influence on a license and have the gaming board ignore all signs along the way just stinks," said former Allegheny County Chief Executive Jim Roddey.
The four caucuses in the Legislature and the governor appoint the members of the Gaming Control Board, which issued the license to DeNaples and 10 others.
The board has been under fire for giving DeNaples a license after its investigators suspected he was not truthful with them.
The largest share of DeNaples' campaign money to any individual went to Democratic Gov. Ed Rendell, who received two donations totaling $115,000 in August 2002. Rendell's spokesman Chuck Ardo said Rendell won't return the money.
"Mr. DeNaples is a well known businessman in Northeastern Pennsylvania who is an acquaintance of the governor," Ardo said. "He has been a generous supporter of politicians on both sides of the political aisle for many years.
"The governor believes that although (DeNaples) is currently facing perjury charges, he must be presumed innocent until proven otherwise in a court of law. If and when that happens, the governor will make a decision as how to proceed," Ardo said.
After Hsu skipped bail, Rendell gave $40,000 to charity that had been raised by the Democratic fundraiser, Ardo said.
Elected officials may argue that it's OK to keep the money because the contributor hasn't been convicted. But Roddey said having either a campaign worker or a campaign contributor accused of a crime is a serious matter in public perception.
"It depends where you are," said Jack Treadway, political science professor at Kutztown University. "If you are up in (DeNaples') neck of the woods, you probably don't give it back. I don't think anyone up there is that upset about it." In other parts of the state, "I don't know how it could hurt you public relations-wise to give it back."
In his view, Treadway said, "It would be the right thing to give it back."
Campaign 2000, a committee that fueled campaigns of Senate Democratic candidates, received the second-largest share of DeNaples' donations with $106,500. The Senate Democratic Campaign Committee got $103,000 from DeNaples. The Senate Minority leader, Robert Mellow, represents the Lackawanna County district where DeNaples lives.
Mellow pressed for a casino in the Poconos, and he asked that Mount Airy be considered as a potential site before DeNaples bought the property.
Mellow's spokesman Charlie Tocci declined to comment.
The National Republican Congressional Committee received $106,000 from DeNaples' interests, including $50,000 directly from DeNaples. "If the individual in question is found guilty of a crime, it is our intent to donate the money to charity," said Julie Shutley, a committee spokeswoman.
Republican Attorney General Tom Corbett, who received a $25,000 donation from DeNaples in 2004, does not plan to return the money, spokesman Kevin Harley said.
"When he received that contribution, that was before Mr. DeNaples had even applied for a license," Harley said. "When he accepted that campaign contribution from Mr. DeNaples, Mr. DeNaples was not under investigation, was not applying for a gaming license and was just a businessman in Northeastern Pennsylvania."
Corbett also wouldn't recuse himself from any investigations involving DeNaples.
"If an issue came up ... we would investigate it," Harley said.
The Pennsylvania Democratic State Committee won't be returning the $50,000 received from DeNaples in 2003 and 2004, said spokesman Abe Amoros.
"No, we will not return the $50,000," Amoros said. "(DeNaples) is innocent until proven guilty, and we feel it's unreasonable to ask to return that money now."
DeNaples also gave $40,000 to the Senate Republican Campaign Committee from 2003 through 2005. Senate President Joe Scarnati, R-Jefferson County, who took control of the committee last year, "never took a dime from this gentleman and doesn't know him," said spokesman Todd Nyquist. The committee isn't returning the money.
Nyquist noted that the committee was in debt when Scarnati took it over. Former Senate President Robert Jubelirer, R-Altoona and former Senate Majority Leader David Brightbill, R-Lebanon County, "spent that money many times over," he said.
