o5.08.07
Donations to Levin raise questions over casino
Contributors deny trying to win support
By MIKE CONNELL
Times Herald
Pizza king Mike Ilitch, Port Huron philanthropist Jim Acheson and Detroit casino developer Mike Malik made generous donations this spring to the campaign of Michigan's senior senator.
Were those contributions more than coincidence?
"He has not taken any position," Levin aide Tara Andringa said Monday. She also stressed there was "no reason to believe" the contributions had any connection to the casino.
- Mike Malik, a Clay Township native who proposes spending $300 million to build a 120,000-square-foot casino and 350-room resort hotel on the Edison Inn property and several adjacent parcels on St. Clair Street. He donated $4,600, the maximum allowed by federal law.
- Jim Acheson, the millionaire philanthropist whose land-development company, Acheson Ventures, has a 10-year plan to revitalize more than a mile of riverfront property in Port Huron. He also gave $4,600.
- Doug Austin, executive vice president of Acheson Ventures, who gave $4,600.
- Mary Fletcher, who gave $4,600. She is the wife of attorney Gary Fletcher, whose law firm represents St. Clair County and numerous other local governmental bodies, including the municipalities and school districts in Port Huron and Marysville. He also advised the Thomas Edison Casino Committee, which won voter approval for a casino in a 2001 referendum.
- Linda Anthony, the general manager of the Thomas Edison Inn, who gave $1,000.
Ilitches donate $13,800
Three members of the Ilitch family - Mike, Marian and Chris - also gave $4,600 apiece. The three are:
- Mike Ilitch, founder of the Little Caesars pizza chain. He owns two professional sports franchises in Detroit, the Tigers and Red Wings, and has avoided direct dealings with gambling interests.
- Marian Ilitch, owner of the MotorCity Casino in Detroit. She and Malik have pursued casino projects across the nation, from Long Island, N.Y., to Waikiki Beach, Hawaii. She repeatedly has stressed she has no financial stake in a proposed Port Huron casino.
- Chris Ilitch, the son of Mike and Marian. He is the president and chief executive of Ilitch Holdings, which provides professional and technical services to the companies owned by his parents.
Donors reject speculation
The Verifiable Truth, a Web site that is often harshly critical of Malik and the Ilitches, speculated the March 30 contributions were coordinated by supporters of an off-reservation Indian casino in Port Huron.
"Reports filed by Sen. Levin reveal Malik and the Ilitch family likely called on a number of their contract attorneys, lobbyists, consultants, property managers, insurance companies, accountants, Port Huron business partners, food suppliers, vendors and employees' family members to write checks to Sen. Levin on March 30," said an analysis posted on the Web site, www.theverifiabletruth.com.
Donors contacted by the Times Herald disputed the Web site's portrayal.
Austin acknowledged he and Acheson hope to influence the senator but not on behalf of the casino.
"The senator was a big supporter for the Detroit waterfront (revitalization)," he said, "and we're hoping for some federal help with our shoreline here in Port Huron."
Malik described his donation as routine.
"We give to our political representatives every year," he said. "It's nothing new, nothing different."
With the Red Wings playing a critical playoff game Monday night in San Jose, it was not possible to get immediate comment from the Ilitches. Karen Cullen of Ilitch Holdings said she would get a response from the family as soon as she could.
Levin seen as pivotal
Levin's support is seen as critical to the casino proposal, which requires congressional approval to move forward.
Past efforts to push the measure through Congress were stymied in both houses. Five years ago, Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., blocked it in the Senate, where he is now majority leader. A later measure was killed in the House by Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Brighton.
Earlier this year, U.S. Rep. Candice Miller indicated the proposal was languishing because it lacked the support of Levin and Gov. Jennifer Granholm.
"If we had a united front, it would be much more helpful," she said.
Miller, R-Harrison Township, and U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Lansing, have battled on behalf of a Port Huron casino despite the strong opposition of Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick and other Detroit officials, who see it as competition for the three casinos in Michigan's largest city.
Levin, a former Detroit councilman, and Granholm, a former Wayne County official, have withheld their support despite arguments that a casino would be an economic boost for Port Huron, which has a double-digit unemployment rate and one of the nation's highest rates of mortgage foreclosures. The city itself is on the verge of bankruptcy.
Cliff Schrader, a former Port Huron councilman and a member of the Thomas Edison Casino Committee, predicted a casino never would be built without strong support from Levin, one the most influential figures on Capitol Hill with the Democrats in control of Congress.
"If he supports (a casino), it happens," Schrader said. "If he doesn't, it doesn't."
Donor plays key role
The Verifiable Truth, citing FEC records, said "Malik and his partners" have given freely to campaigns, including $117,000 to Stabenow, more than $75,000 to Miller and about $22,000 to Reid. However, the Web site also said it had found no past contributions from Malik to Levin.
"(Malik) had never contributed to (Levin), a man with a nearly 30-year history in Congress, although the 53-year-old Malik has lived a lifetime in Michigan and has been politically involved for years," the Web site said.
Of the nearly $97,000 in contributions made to Levin on March 30, about half came from donors with known ties to Malik, the Ilitches or Port Huron.
Those contributors included Lance Boldrey, an Okemos lawyer who gave $1,000. He has played a pivotal role in efforts to bring a casino to Port Huron.
On his last day in office in 2002, former Gov. John Engler - long an outspoken opponent of casino gambling - approved a deal giving the Bay Mills Indian Community the right to build a casino in Port Huron if it surrendered its long-standing claim to land at Charlotte Beach in the Upper Peninsula.
Boldrey, who served as Engler's deputy legal counsel, brokered the deal. He now specializes in the field of Indian law for the Dykema Gossett law firm.
http://www.thetimesherald.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070508/NEWS01/705080304/1002
Click to see 3/30/07 Donor List
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