According to Barstow District Superior Court records (Case BCVBS08816), a front group for Detroit casino developer Barwest LLC has been ordered to pay $110,000 in legal fees charged to proponents of a June 2006 ballot measure.
The Barwest backed group Barstow Citizens for Real Economic Development (BCRED) had filed suit in 2005/2006 against the City of Barstow, former Mayor Manuel Gurule and others attempting to block a citizens’ qualified ballot measure on future casino development.
After several months and several hundred thousand dollars in legal fees, in early March 2006 Superior Court Judge John P. Vanderfeer tossed out the original Barwest-backed lawsuit and ordered the election to stand.
Background
More than 1,500 Barstow voters had signed petitions to qualify the citizens’ measure for the June 2006 ballot. Barwest feared the measure would open the doors to competition in Barstow and found that unsettling. Barwest's group filed suit in December 2005 to stop the election.
Gurule had lead the petition gathering effort and when Barwest brought suit to stop the election from going forward, Gurule was forced to give-in or find legal representation. Court documents indicate attorneys representing Gurule racked up nearly $150,000 in fees to defend the citizens’ measure and keep it on the ballot.
In January 2007, Gurule filed a motion to recover attorneys’ fees, and on February 15, after hearing arguments from both sides, Judge P. Vanderfeer ordered BCRED (Barwest) to pay $110,000 to the law firm that had stepped in to assist Gurule and defend the citizens’ measure.
In January 2007, Gurule filed a motion to recover attorneys’ fees, and on February 15, after hearing arguments from both sides, Judge P. Vanderfeer ordered BCRED (Barwest) to pay $110,000 to the law firm that had stepped in to assist Gurule and defend the citizens’ measure.
In depositions taken as part of the original case, so-called leaders of Barstow Citizens for Real Economic Development (BCRED) and the Los Coyotes Indian Tribe revealed BCRED was funded and directed by the team of public relations consultants and lawyers backing Barwest LLC, a Detroit-based casino syndication driven by Mrs. Marian Ilitch and Michael J. Malik, Sr.
After the Judge’s 2006 ruling, Barwest had even greater fears about the outcome of the impending June election; BCRED (Barwest) reported out spending the measure’s proponents by at least 4-to-1, logging close to $200,000 in expenses.
That’s got to be more than was spent on Barstow political campaigns collectively for the last 25 years.
Campaign reporting documents indicate Barwest principals Ilitch and Malik each contributed $20,000, approximately $5,000 was contributed by other sources, most of which were outside of Barstow and no other contributions have been raised since June 2006. Nearly $150,000 was fronted by Ilitch public relations lieutenant Tom Shields, Marketing Resources Group, Inc. (MRG).
After the Judge’s 2006 ruling, Barwest had even greater fears about the outcome of the impending June election; BCRED (Barwest) reported out spending the measure’s proponents by at least 4-to-1, logging close to $200,000 in expenses.
That’s got to be more than was spent on Barstow political campaigns collectively for the last 25 years.
Campaign reporting documents indicate Barwest principals Ilitch and Malik each contributed $20,000, approximately $5,000 was contributed by other sources, most of which were outside of Barstow and no other contributions have been raised since June 2006. Nearly $150,000 was fronted by Ilitch public relations lieutenant Tom Shields, Marketing Resources Group, Inc. (MRG).
Acting as a lendor for the committee, Shields' pr firm paid the TV, radio, direct mail and advertising vendors as well as a group of Los Coyotes tribe members who formed a “grassroots” team. The committee has been showing payments made by Shields to those vendors as outstanding debt for nearly a year. In November 2006 the committee made additional expenses but did not repay Shields.
It’s unclear who wrote the $110,000.00 check that Judge Vanderfeer ordered BCRED to pay.
And it's unclear who if anyone has or will reimburse Shields. Certainly he's not going to "eat" the costs.
It’s unclear who wrote the $110,000.00 check that Judge Vanderfeer ordered BCRED to pay.
And it's unclear who if anyone has or will reimburse Shields. Certainly he's not going to "eat" the costs.
When all is said and done, someone has spent at least $500,000 to block the citizens’ ballot measure from being approved. That's probably more than has been spent collectively on Barstow political campaigns since the town was formed in 1888.
Resources:
Barstow Superior Court: Case #BCVBS08816
Further Background & Court Documents
Resources:
Barstow Superior Court: Case #BCVBS08816
Further Background & Court Documents
You may also want to review this post:
For months the Los Coyotes Band of Indians and the crew working for its billionaire Detroit developer Marian Ilitch (Barwest) have been trolling the State Capitol, trying to convince legislators in Sacramento that it would be “impossible” to build a casino on their San Diego Reservation; at the same time, the Santa Ysabel Tribe (Los Coyotes’ neighbor) has been hard at work proving it can be done! 
Five California tribes are headed to the Legislature this week to seek approval of their new gaming compacts. 
