Michigan’s Political Ménage à Trois

What do casino maven Marian Ilitch and Michigan Congresswoman Candice Miller (R-10^th) have in common?

The two powerful Michigan women share the same guy (political guru). (He’s attempted to deny the connection and says the only thing they have in common is their blonde hair color).

Tom Shields, GOP political/PR/advertising guy and the founder of Lansing, Michigan based Marketing Resource Group is:

• spokesman for Ilitch Holdings, Inc. and its various affiliates as well as for various casino syndications backed by Marian Ilitch in NY, MI & CA; and

• senior political and advertising consultant in the last two of three congressional campaigns for Rep. Candice Miller.

Shields & Illitch

Shields has worked with Marian Ilitch and her family for more than a decade, dating back to the 1996 statewide ballot measure that narrowly approved three commercial casinos in Detroit (GreekTown, MotorCity Casino and MGM Grand Detroit). Originally backed by money from Circus Circus (Mandalay Resort Group); now, it is said, Marian is the sole owner of MotorCity Casino. And her family owns, Little Caesars Pizza, Detroit Tigers and the Detroit Red Wings.

Shields & Miller

Shields wasn’t part of the team that got Candice Miller originally elected to Congress, but after she introduced a bill to get an Ilitch backed casino approved by Act of Congress, Shields replaced Miller’s primary political advertising consultant, at a fraction of their costs (19%), in Rep. Miller’s subsequent re-election campaigns.

Shields & Ilitch & Miller

The Ilitch Family didn’t back Rep. Miller’s first congressional campaign but after she introduced their casino bill they were gungho for Miller. A month after Miller introduced the casino bill (two months into her first congressional term), the Ilitch Family publicly joined the Miller bandwagon and put together one of the biggest fundraising days of Rep. Miller’s first two years in Congress (Shields hopped aboard and wrote a $1,000 check that day too). Since Rep. Miller introduced their casino bill, Marian Ilitch (her partner Michael J. Malik, Sr.) and her family have contributed $75,000 to Rep. Miller’s political committees.

TOM SHIELDS Marketing Resource Group, Inc. Lansing, Michigan

CASINO & ILITCH AFFILIATED CLIENT LIST

Atwater Casino Group

Atwater Entertainment Group

BarWest Gaming, L.L.C.

Bay Mills Indian Community

Big Lagoon Rancheria

re-elect Candice Miller for Congress

Circus Circus Michigan

Detroit Red Wings

Detroit Tigers

Four Winds Casino

Gateway Casino Resorts, L.L.C.

Hawaii Entertainment L.L.C.

Ilitch Holdings, Inc.

Little River Band of Ottawa Indians

Los Coyotes Band of Cahuilla and Cupeno Indians

MotorCity Casino

Nottawaseppi Huron Band of Potawatomi Indians

Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians

Port Huron/Thomas Edison Inn Casino

(1996) Proposal E – allow 3 Casinos in Detroit

(2004) Proposal 1 – Prohibit future gaming expansion in MI

Renegade Charters L.L.C.

Shinnecock Indian Nation

partial list

More:

Tom Shields

Marian Ilitch

Candice Miller

adn.com | Alaska Newsreader Today's News for the Last Frontier

adn.com Alaska Newsreader - Today's News for the Last Frontier: "Troha is under indictment for illegally funneling campaign cash to Wisconsin’s governor and state Democratic Party in an attempt to get a casino approved in Wisconsin. Spokesmen for Young and Oberstar (now the chairman) say it’s news to them that Troha benefited from changes in trucking regulataions they inserted. The AP story basically rehashes more extensive blog posts (and here) in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. A casino-watchdog blog, meanwhile, notes that Troha and his company rank #3 among all of Young’s contributors – right behind Veco and Carnival cruise lines."

PR firm for Ilitch Holdings & Casinos loaned to Rep. Candice Miller’s re-election campaigns

A Lansing-based GOP public relations/political consulting firm primarily representing entities controlled by Mike & Marian Ilitch or their casino syndication partner Michael J. Malik, Sr. has handled advertising and political consulting duties for Rep. Candice Miller’s (R-MI) last two re-election campaigns at a fraction of the costs her campaign paid for the same services the first time she was elected to the House of Representatives (2002).

CANDICE S. MILLER (R-MI)
Expenditures

2002 Election Cycle

Recipient	Amount	Date	Description
William Eisner Associates, Inc. Hales Corners, WI	$952,058	2002	Radio/Cable TV Commercials

2003-2004 Re-election Cycle

Recipient	Amount	Date	Description
Marketing Resource Group, Inc.	$94,419	9/29/2004	CAMPAIGN RADIO BUY
Marketing Resource Group, Inc., Lansing, MI	$18,995	10/4/2004	CAMPAIGN RADIO BUY
Marketing Resource Group, Inc., Lansing, MI	$15,000	10/19/2004	RADIO ADDS
Marketing Resource Group, Inc., Lansing, MI	$1,925	11/9/2004	MILLER & VIVIANO ADDS
Marketing Resource Group, Inc., Lansing, MI	$340	10/20/2004	MILLER ADS
	$130,679	(14%)

2005-2006 Re-election Cycle

Recipient	Amount	Date	Description
Marketing Resource Group, Inc,	$177,230	9/9/2006	CAMPAIGN RADIO AD BUY
Marketing Resource Group, Inc, Lansing, MI	$1,070	11/6/2006	RADIO ADS
Marketing Resource Group, Inc, Lansing, MI	$352	10/27/2006	DESIGN Svcs/Production
	$178,652	(19%)

Background

Tom Shields’ Marketing Resource Group, Inc. does a substantial percentage of business with entities owned or controlled by Mike Ilitch and Marian Ilitch, and also Michael J. Malik Sr. (MRG Client List). He represents nearly all the Indian Tribes and casinos in which Ilitch/Malik have interests. He frequently provides pro bono or discounted services to community groups and those who can help him advance his clients’ agenda.

In her first race (2002) for Congress, then-Michigan Secretary of State Candice Miller paid close to $1 million for advertising and consulting to William Eisner Associates, Inc. Records do not indicate MRG or Shields were part of her first Congressional Campaign. The first campaign was not supported in any significant financial way by the Ilitch Family or Malik.

Miller pushes Ilitch/Malik backed Casino

Then on February 13, 2003, freshman Rep. Miller introduced a bill, H.R. 831, to push approvals for a Port Huron Indian casino through Congress. The casino proposal has been backed by Detroit casino syndicators Malik and Mrs. Marian Ilitch for nearly a decade. They have a core team of lawyers and public relations people that work with them on these various projects, among them are Dykema Gossett PLLC (Lansing & Detroit) and Marketing Resource Group, Inc. (Lansing).

Ilitch/Malik contribute $75,000 to Miller

March 11, 2003 the Ilitch Family, Malik, Shields and several associates contribute $25,500 to Rep. Miller’s campaign committee making 3/11/03 the second biggest fundraising day of Miller’s first two year term in Congress. By the end of 2006, Federal Election Commission records indicate the Ilitch Family and Malik alone had contributed $75,000 to Rep. Miller’s committees.

Ilitch PR Boss takes over Miller campaign duties

When it came time to seek re-election to Congress in 2004 & 2006, Rep. Miller apparently abandoned the advertising and political consulting firm that helped elect her to a first term in Congress and began working with the same firm behind many Ilitch ventures, Marketing Resource Group, Inc., a firm founded by Tom Shields. Shields is often spokesman for the Ilitch Family and their various business affiliates and Indian tribe partners. Shields’ firm charged Rep. Miller a fraction of the costs her campaign spent in 2002.

It is unclear whether or not Shields/Marketing Resource Group was compensated for creative, consulting and management services to Rep. Miller’s campaign or if the work was done free of charge for Miller. Perhaps Shields’ services to Rep Miller were “free” or at greatly discounted costs because it appears that MRG only billed Miller’s campaign for the actual costs of purchasing the air time for advertising.

New Federal Probe of Wis. Trucking Magnate Dennis Troha, Rep. Don Young (R-AK)

Young linked to federal investigation


By FREDERIC J. FROMMER
The Associated Press

(Published: March 20, 2007)

WASHINGTON -- Lawmakers who championed legislation easing truck-hauling regulations said this week that they had no idea that Kenosha, Wis., businessman Dennis Troha's consulting company stood to gain financially from the legislation's passage.

U.S. Attorney Steven Biskupic said that federal investigators are looking into the deal, in which Troha will be paid by his former trucking company, JHT Holdings, through 2010 because Congress passed legislation helping the company.

The legislation, which was included as an amendment in a highway spending bill that became law in 2005, was offered by Reps. Don Young, R-Alaska, and Jim Oberstar, D-Minn., who was at the time the chairman and ranking member, respectively, of the House Transportation Committee. Both members have received more than $20,000 from Troha and his family members and associates.

In addition, Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., had written to Young and Oberstar urging them to support the new regulations.

Bank records obtained by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel show that Troha's consulting firm, T Group Consulting, received two wire transfers of more than $107,000 from JHT a month after the highway bill became law.

Troha was indicted March 1 on charges of illegally funneling more than $100,000 in campaign donations to Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle and the federal account of the state Democratic Party.

The indictment alleges Troha concealed the nature of the transactions in his attempt to obtain approval for a casino in Kenosha and lied to the FBI about it. Troha, the former owner of a major trucking firm now at the center of a multistate tax dispute, has pleaded not guilty.

Ryan said he has donated the $58,000 he received from Troha and his family members to the Kenosha Boys & Girls Club because of that indictment.

The new trucking regulations, which the Federal Highway Administration is scheduled to put into effect this week, will allow 97-foot-long multitruck combinations. Before that, states were allowed to impose 75-foot maximum lengths.

A spokesman for Oberstar, who is now chairman of the House Transportation Committee, said that the congressman supported the amendment after looking into it and determining that the new rules would be safe.

"Jim has traditionally been concerned about longer vehicles," said the spokesman, John Schadl. "He took a long look at this and had to be reassured before he would allow it."

Schadl said that Oberstar meets with constituents and lobbyists all the time on issues.

"The important thing is all of these people clearly state who they are and what their agenda is," he said. "That clearly did not happen in this case, and he was very upset about it."

He added: "The congressman does feel he was misled here. A lot of people represent a lot of groups. You have to be up front."

Shadl said Oberstar was mostly lobbied by John Erickson, a JHT Holdings executive, and by the company’s Washington lobbyist, Stuart Dye. Schadl said that neither of them mentioned the deal with Troha’s consulting company.

Erickson said that he didn’t know about the deal at the time. Dye did not immediately return a telephone message left late Monday afternoon.

The Oberstar campaign’s field director, Alana Petersen, said that Oberstar will donate contributions he received from Troha, family members and associates to the U.S. Treasury’s Bureau of Public Debt.

Young's office declined to comment.

Ryan described his role as providing "routine and appropriate constituent service to a large employer in my district. ... I'm as frustrated as anyone to learn that some individuals did not disclose their personal interests, which were unbeknown to me at all."

He said that he and several colleagues decided to write the letter to the committee in 2005 because they believed the change would be good public policy. Ryan argued that it will improve safety and reduce fuel consumption.

But Dmitri Iglitzin, a labor-law attorney in Seattle, said the new rule will lead to less safety, not more.

"These vehicles are one-third the size of a football field -- these are huge, huge vehicles," he said. "It's dangerous. If it loses control, you have a potential for a catastrophic accident."

He called passage of the legislation "a classic example of what's wrong with the American political system, and what's wrong with Congress."

Troha's lawyer, Franklyn Gimbel, did not return telephone messages seeking comment Monday. But he told the Journal Sentinel his client is the victim of a "media feeding frenzy."

"There is not anything in the story that suggested any criminal wrongdoing," he said.

Gimbel said none of the dealings should be questioned and the deal simply meant Troha would be able to share in any profits the company saw if the legislation were to pass. He sold his majority share in JHT in early 2005 and has since sold all ownership.

http://www.adn.com/news/alaska/story/8724285p-8626359c.html

Family that built fortune on Detroit Sports and Little Caesars Pizza directed $900k to these political committees while expanding gambling ventures

Ilitch Family/Malik Political Contributions

Ranked by cumulative giving 2002-2006

From records available at the Federal Election Commission and various state officials

Cumulative Amount	Political Committee
$200,000.00	1. LET VOTERS DECIDE YES ON 1 512104-BAL (Restrict Expansion of Gambling)
$75,000.00	2. 2004 JOINT STATE VICTORY COMMITTEE - REPUBLICAN
$75,000.00	3. CANDICE MILLER FOR CONGRESS / CANDICE PAC
$54,400.00	4. MICHIGAN SENATE 2006 - DEMOCRAT (Stabenow)
$50,000.00	5. REPUBLICAN NATIONAL COMMITTEE – July 13, 2005 (Day Between Pombo All Star Game Fundraiser & House Resources Committee Hearing)
$40,000.00	6. BARSTOW CITIZENS FOR REAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT - 2006
$36,200.00	7. STABENOW FOR US SENATE
$26,700.00	8. DEMOCRATIC SENATORIAL CAMPAIGN COMMITTEE - 2006 (Stabenow)
$26,600.00	9. SAN JOAQUIN/CA REPUBLICAN VICTORY FUND - 2004 (Pombo/Violated CA Political Reform Laws & fined $6,500)
$25,000.00	10. NATIONAL REPUBLICAN CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEE
$22,000.00	11. FRIENDS FOR HARRY REID / SEARCHLIGHT LEADERSHIP FUND
$16,800.00	12. MARK KENNEDY 06 - REPUBLICAN (WI)
$16,000.00	13. ALASKANS FOR DON YOUNG INC.
$16,000.00	14. KNOLLENBERG FOR CONGRESS COMMITTEE
$16,000.00	15. RICHARD POMBO FOR CONGRESS / RICH PAC
$14,000.00	16. BUSH-CHENEY '04 (PRIMARY) INC - REPUBLICAN
$13,000.00	17. NATIONAL LEADERSHIP PAC (Rep. RANGEL)
$11,200.00	18. MCCLINTOCK FOR LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR (CA)
$10,100.00	19. FRIENDS OF HILLARY (Clinton)
$10,000.00	20. CITIZENS TO SAVE CALIFORNIA (Schwarzenegger)
$10,000.00	21. OFFICE OF THE COMMISSIONER OF MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL PAC
$9,500.00	22. LEWIS FOR CONGRESS / FUTURE LEADERS PAC (CA)
$9,000.00	23. DANIEL K INOUYE FOR US SENATE (HI)
$9,000.00	24. STUPAK FOR CONGRESS
$5,400.00	25. JENNIFER M GRANHOLM FOR GOVERNOR
$5,000.00	26. AMERICA'S LEADERSHIP PAC (DEM)
$5,000.00	27. PERATA, TAXPAYERS FOR (CA)
$4,200.00	28. BOUCHARD FOR US SENATE
$4,000.00	29. FRIENDS OF PAT WIGGINS (CA)
$3,400.00	30. DICK DEVOS FOR GOVERNOR 512426-GUB
$3,400.00	31. GEORGE PERLES FOR MSU TRUSTEE 512571-CAN
$3,300.00	32. ALBERTO TORRICO FOR ASSEMBLY 2006 (CA)
$3,300.00	33. CALIFORNIAN TAXPAYERS FOR HORTON
$3,300.00	34. CARL MARLINGA FOR CONGRESS - DEMOCRAT
$3,300.00	35. FRIENDS OF FABIAN NUNEZ 2006 (CA)
$3,300.00	37. LELAND YEE FOR SENATE (CA)
$3,000.00	38. CARL MARLINGA FOR CONGRESS
$3,000.00	39. CHOCOLA FOR CONGRESS INC - REPUBLICAN
$3,000.00	40. GOVERNOR ENGLER LEADERSHIP FUND
$2,676.00	41. ARKANSAS LEADERSHIP COMMITTEE 2004 FCRC
$2,000.00	42. FRIENDS OF KEVIN DELEON (CA)
$2,000.00	43. JEFF DENHAM FOR SENATE 2006 (CA)
$2,000.00	44. KERRY, JOHN
$2,000.00	45. MIKE COX FOR ATTORNEY GENERAL 510518-CAN
$1,875.00	46. MAZE FOR ASSEMBLY (CA)
$1,500.00	47. AGHAZARIAN 2006 (CA)
$1,338.00	48. KIRKWOOD, MYRAH LYNN
$1,000.00	49. BOB BEAUPREZ FOR CONGRESS - REPUBLICAN
$1,000.00	50. BROWN-WAITE FOR CONGRESS - REPUBLICAN
$1,000.00	51. COMMITTEE TO ELECT GARY ACKERMAN - DEMOCRAT
$1,000.00	52. COX 5200 CLUB 511499-IND
$1,000.00	53. DR. ED HERNANDEZ, O.D. DEMOCRAT FOR ASSEMBLY (CA)
$1,000.00	54. GINGREY FOR CONGRESS - REPUBLICAN
$1,000.00	55. JIM GERLACH FOR CONGRESS COMMITTEE - REPUBLICAN
$1,000.00	56. KILPATRICK FOR UNITED STATES CONGRESS - DEMOCRAT
$1,000.00	57. MAX BURNS FOR CONGRESS - REPUBLICAN (MT)
$1,000.00	58. MIKE ROGERS FOR CONGRESS - REPUBLICAN
$1,000.00	59. PADILLA FOR SENATE (CA)
$1,000.00	60. PATTY BERG FOR ASSEMBLY (CA)
$1,000.00	61. PEARCE FOR CONGRESS - REPUBLICAN
$1,000.00	62. ROY ASBURN FOR SENATE (CA)
$500.00	63. COM TO REELCT JDG WILLIAM C WHITBECK 508592-CAN
$500.00	64. FRIENDS OF SENATOR CARL LEVIN - DEMOCRAT
$10,525.00	65. MISC
$888,314.00	TOTAL

* See links in sidebar for additional break down with specifics on donor, date and amount

Red Bird II: the official airplane of the Detroit Tigers & Red Wings owned by the Ilitch Family (Olympia Aviation)

Official Airplane of the

Detroit Tigers & Red Wings (Ilitch Holdings, Inc.)

Operator	Model	Registration
OLYMPIA AVIATION (Ilitch Holdings, Inc.)	DC9	N682RW

Status	Remarks
Leased From	PROVIDENT BANK

Orig Delivery Date	Age-Yrs	Serial No
Sep-77	27.1	47733

Rep. Young (R-AK) flying around in Detroit Casino Developers' private jet

* * UPDATED with TWO ADDITIONAL PLANE FLIGHTS 3/19/2007 * *

Alaska Representative Don Young, then Chair of the House Transportation Committee, was apparently flying around on someone's private jet or a jet they had chartered for private travel. Based on FEC records available through PoliticalMoneyLine for Congressional Quarterly, apparently Barwest LLC orginally picked up the air travel tab. And then subsequently it appears the same parties may have fronted costs for two additional flights using other names.

Barwest LLC is primarily a casino development and management syndication. Barwest LLC was fined in October 2006 by the California Fair Political Practices Commission on two counts of failing to report a contribution of $26,600 to Rep. Richard Pombo's County GOP Committee.

It is unclear for the various flights what the itninerary or purpose was or who else was on the plane; but for the Barwest LLC fronted travel there are several other Las Vegas-related travel and lodging expenses logged by the Congressman on the same day. For the Malik fronted air travel there was a corresponding charge to The Homestead resort in Hot Springs, VA. Corporate Flight charter service is based at the Oakland County Airport frequently used by Malik.

DON YOUNG (R-AK)
Expenditures

2005-2006 Cycle

Recipient	Amount	Date	Description
Barwest LLC, Detroit, MI	$5,817	1/25/2005	AIR TRAVEL
Corporate Flight, Waterford, MI	$3,422	2/17/2005	AIR TRAVEL
Malik, Michael, Detroit, MI	$3,978	10/07/2005	AIR TRAVEL

FEC statement filed 4/12/2005, Page 191, Item C; and Page 197, Item A.

FEC Statement filed 1/25/2006, Page 84, Item A.

Barwest LLC principals are Mrs. Marian Ilitch and Michael J. Malik, Sr. (Michael Malik). Barwest LLC is Detroit-based but its primary business is in California. Barwest LLC seeks to build twin Indian casinos in Barstow, California; that would anchor a larger commercial mega resort area. Barwest LLC has the exclusive rights to develop and manage the proposed casinos and resort projects which still need various state and federal approvals.

Ilitch and Malik are also bankrolling other off-reservation casino proposals in Michigan (Port Huron) and New York (Southampton/Shinnecock Hills).

Congress.org ranks Rep. Young as the most powerful Republican on the House Natural Resources Committee which oversees Indian gaming matters. He is former chairman of the committee having served prior to Rep. Richard Pombo who took the reins in 2003.

Rep. Young was then powerful chair of the House Transportation Committee. The various casinos backed by Ilitch and Malik require various transportation and highway improvements. But more significantly the backers of the Bay Mills Indian Tribe's proposed Port Huron casino had secretly slipped approvals for the project into a transportation spending bill but opponents in Congress caught the move and extracted it from the bill.

The Ilitch Family and Malik have previously contributed at least $16,000 to Rep. Young's campaign committee and thousands more to various national GOP committees with which Young is likely affiliated or a beneficiary. Further, they contributed $21,000 to Rep. Mark Kennedy's (R-MN) failed campaign for the U.S. Senate. Kennedy was a member of the transportation Committee and one of Rep. Young's allies.

Ilitch Holdings, including Malik, ranked as one of Young's top 5 donors for the two-year 2006 campaign cycle. Mike and Marian Ilitch are the co-founders of Little Caesars Pizza and own the Detroit Red Wings. The family also owns the Detroit Tigers and purchased Detroit's MotorCity Casino from Mandalay Resort Group/MGM Mirage in 2005.

you may want to review these posts:

• Casino Developer who fronted travel & entertainment costs for Rep. Don Young (R-AK) did the same for former Rep. Richard Pombo (R-CA)
• Members of Congress aren't the only elected officials flying around in the private aircraft of Detroit casino syndicators