In November 2001, Michigan State Representative "Buzz" Thomas (Samuel Thomas III) authored and introduced House Resolution 0259 honoring the life of Lawrence P. Doss.
Among many other accomplishments, Doss was one of the organizers of Atwater Entertainment Associates LLC, the syndicated entity that bankrolled approvals of gambling in Detroit and started MotorCity Casino. Doss was recognized as Manager/Treasurer of Atwater and was a signator to the Detroit Entertainment LLC Operating Agreement as representative of Atwater. That agreement tied together members of Atwater with a partnership that included Marian Ilitch, Tom Celani and Michael Malik, and Las Vegas-based Circus Circus (Mandalay Resort Group) to form the entity that does business as Detroit's MotorCity Casino.
A list of those who were "investors" indicates that then-Representative Thomas (he's now a State Senator) and Doss were partners in Atwater Entertainment Associates LLC. Mr. Doss's interests in Atwater were transferred to Judith Y. Doss in October 2001.
In 2005, Marian Ilitch initiated a buy-out of her Atwater partners -- presumably including Samual "Buzz" Thomas III and Judith Doss -- which some valued at more than $100 million.
Saturday, January 17, 2009
Tribe's former chairman now skippers casino syndicator's luxury fishing boat
The former chairman of the Little River Band of Ottawa Indians is running a charter fishing service out of Manistee, MI set up by his one-time casino partner and skippers that casino syndicator's 35' luxury fishing boat.
TVT has previously reported that Robert "Bob" Guenthardt (former chairman of the Little River Band of Ottawa Indians) was running a charter boat fishing service, Renegade Charters, LLC, out of the Riverside Marina in Manistee, MI. (Renegade Charters' Web Site)
Guenthardt's one-time casino partner in Manistee's Little River Casino Resort, Michael J. Malik, Sr. (MJM Manistee), formed Renegade Charters, LLC on 6.14.01. At the time, Guenthardt was still chairman of the Little River Band of Ottawa Indians. Guenthardt resigned as chairman in 2002 amidst a scandal involving the tribe's CFO.
TVT has learned that Guenthardt skippers the "Renegade," a 35' Cabo Express luxury edition vessel delivered in 2001, owned by Michael Malik. That vessel was originally registered on 6.15.01 to Malik / MJM Manistee at 2211 Woodward Ave., Detroit, MI 48201.
In the late 1990s, Malik and a former partner, Thomas Celani, reportedly bankrolled and won approvals to build and then manage the Little River Casino Resort in Manistee, MI.
Update of affiliates involved with the Bay Mills Indian Community and plans for a Port Huron (MI) casino resort
The following is an updated list of Malik/Ilitch/Serwer affiliates that are presumed to be associated with the Bay Mills Indian Community and plans to develop a casino resort in Port Huron, MI.
- Blue Water Equities, L.L.C.
Blue Water Holdings I, L.L.C.
Blue Water Resorts, L.L.C.
Blue Water Resorts Manager, Inc.
CB Property Holdings, Inc.
CB Property Investments, L.L.C.
MJM Bay Mills, Inc.
MJM Blue Water, L.L.C.
MJM Blue Water Investors, LLC
MJM Charlotte Beach, L.L.C.
MJM Enterprises Development Company
Friday, January 16, 2009
DOJ Announces Charges Against former Mashpee Wampanoag Chair
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, December 15, 2008
WWW.USDOJ.GOV/USAO/MA
CONTACT: CHRISTINA DiIORIO-STERLING
CONTACT: CHRISTINA DiIORIO-STERLING
PHONE: (617)748-3356
FORMER TRIBAL CHAIRMAN CHARGED WITH CAMPAIGN FINANCE VIOLATIONS AND FRAUD
BOSTON, MA - The former chairman of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe was charged today in U.S. District Court with violations of campaign finance law, along with tax, wire fraud and Social Security fraud, in connection with efforts to secure federal recognition for the Tribe. (See: Original DOJ Press Release)
Thursday, January 15, 2009
"Impoverished" tribe paid $850k to D.C. lobbying firms
According to lobbying records available at OpenSecrets.org, the impoverished Shinnecock Indian Nation has paid $850,000 to D.C. lobbying firms since 2004. However, two of the tribes long time lobbying firms appear to be working for the tribe pro bono.
Curious is that from 2005 – 2008, lobbyists at Wheat Government Relations and Franklin Partnership have been registered as representing the Shinnecock Indian Nation but neither firm has been paid by the tribe for its lobbying support during that period.
Wheat Government Relations registered these lobbyists to represent the tribe:
- Fein, Amanda Minguez, Annie (former aide to Rep. Charles Rangel)
- Sapio, Maryanne
- Shroyer, Julie E
- Wheat, Alan (former Missouri Congressman)
- Guzik, John (former finance director, Michigan GOP; former deputy exec. dir. National Republican Congressional Campaign Committee; campaign strategist for Rep. Thad McCotter)
- Rose, Pete
While Guzik and Rose don’t appear to have been paid by the Shinnecock to represent the tribe's interest since they’ve been at Franklin Partnership; in 2004, when they were part of the Williams Mullen firm, the Shinnecock paid them $200,000.
Both Wheat Government Relations and Williams Mullen indicated, on amended lobbying registrations, they were not being paid by any "affiliated organization."
From 2004 through 2008, Gateway Casino Resorts, the Detroit-based casino syndication organized by Michael J. Malik, Sr. and Marian Ilitch to bankroll the Shinnecock tribe's effort to realize federal recognition and develop a casino resort on Long Island, reports it paid D.C. lobbyists an additional $600,000.
In combination, Gateway Casino Resorts and the Shinnecock Indian Nation have paid D.C. lobbying firms $1.45 million since 2004.
In combination, Gateway Casino Resorts and the Shinnecock Indian Nation have paid D.C. lobbying firms $1.45 million since 2004.
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Intentional or not? Tribe's seasoned D.C. lobbyist has a history of negligent, delayed reporting
Consider that Richard Alcalde (aka Rick Alcalde) has been a D.C. lobbyist for more than a decade.
On 2.16.06, Potomac Partners D.C., a lobbying firm founded by Richard Alcalde, formally filed a lobbying registration form revealing it had been representing the Shinnecock Indian Nation for more than 10 months. Alcalde indicated on that registration form that the firm was not being paid by any affiliated organization to represent the tribe.
Potomac Partners D.C. then late-filed, on 3.02.06, both its Mid-Year 2005 and Year-End 2005 reports of lobbying activity on behalf of the Shinnecock which totaled $120,000 in payments.
And then, more than three years after Alcalde (Potomac Partners) was hired to represent the Shinnecock Indian Nation, Alcalde amended the original registration form to indicate that an affiliate of the tribe, Gateway Casino Resorts, was paying the tribes bills and directing its lobbying activity.
Based on details available at OpenSecrets.org -- and the reliability of Alcalde's disclosures -- Alcalde and his firm Potomac Partners D.C. have been paid $430,000 to represent the Shinnecock starting in 2005.
Detroit-based Gateway Casino Resorts is one of several entities formed by Michael Malik and Mrs. Marian Ilitch to bankroll the Shinnecock tribe’s efforts to receive federal recognition and then build a casino resort on Long Island. Potomac Partners D.C. and its lobbyists (Alcalde and Daniel Feliz) have represented other Malik/Ilitch affiliates as well: MJM Enterprises & Development and Blue Water Resorts.
In recent years, Acalde has found himself in the middle of several Capitol Hill scandals involving Rep. Jerry Lewis (R-CA) and Rep. Don Young (R-AK). Notably Alcalde is at the middle of an ongoing investigation into a $10 million highway earmark for a Florida interchange (Coconut Rd.) reportedly carried by Young. That scandal involves Alcalde’s clients including Daniel J. Aronoff; Aronoff’s Landon Companies and its associates; Florida Gulf Coast University; and others. As TPMmuckraker.com and the Wall Street Journal reported, Alcalde is one of Young's "A-Team" of lobbyists who are to be granted unfettered access to Young's staff.
Young was the former chair of the House Resources Committee and until recently was ranking member of that committee which oversees Indian matters.
On 2.16.06, Potomac Partners D.C., a lobbying firm founded by Richard Alcalde, formally filed a lobbying registration form revealing it had been representing the Shinnecock Indian Nation for more than 10 months. Alcalde indicated on that registration form that the firm was not being paid by any affiliated organization to represent the tribe.
Potomac Partners D.C. then late-filed, on 3.02.06, both its Mid-Year 2005 and Year-End 2005 reports of lobbying activity on behalf of the Shinnecock which totaled $120,000 in payments.
And then, more than three years after Alcalde (Potomac Partners) was hired to represent the Shinnecock Indian Nation, Alcalde amended the original registration form to indicate that an affiliate of the tribe, Gateway Casino Resorts, was paying the tribes bills and directing its lobbying activity.
Based on details available at OpenSecrets.org -- and the reliability of Alcalde's disclosures -- Alcalde and his firm Potomac Partners D.C. have been paid $430,000 to represent the Shinnecock starting in 2005.
Detroit-based Gateway Casino Resorts is one of several entities formed by Michael Malik and Mrs. Marian Ilitch to bankroll the Shinnecock tribe’s efforts to receive federal recognition and then build a casino resort on Long Island. Potomac Partners D.C. and its lobbyists (Alcalde and Daniel Feliz) have represented other Malik/Ilitch affiliates as well: MJM Enterprises & Development and Blue Water Resorts.
In recent years, Acalde has found himself in the middle of several Capitol Hill scandals involving Rep. Jerry Lewis (R-CA) and Rep. Don Young (R-AK). Notably Alcalde is at the middle of an ongoing investigation into a $10 million highway earmark for a Florida interchange (Coconut Rd.) reportedly carried by Young. That scandal involves Alcalde’s clients including Daniel J. Aronoff; Aronoff’s Landon Companies and its associates; Florida Gulf Coast University; and others. As TPMmuckraker.com and the Wall Street Journal reported, Alcalde is one of Young's "A-Team" of lobbyists who are to be granted unfettered access to Young's staff.
Young was the former chair of the House Resources Committee and until recently was ranking member of that committee which oversees Indian matters.
Attorneys tied to Aronoff and Ilitch helped them raise funds for Reps. Don Young, Candice Miller and others
Attorney Harold S. Fried, is president of the Michigan-based law firm Fried Saperstein Abbatt PC. Fried has represented Daniel J. Aronoff’s Landon Companies as confirmed in court documents filed 9.30.05 (Landon Development Corp. v. Target Corporation) and Minutes of the Novi Planning Commission. Fried and Aronoff are anchored in Michigan but both have residences and business interests in Florida. Aronoff’s Landon Development/Edison Farms and an office of Fried Saperstein are both located at 800 Seagate Dr, Naples, FL.
A Naples News article published 4.16.06, “Money a motivator in I-75 earmark?” indicates Fried helped Aronoff with a Florida fundraiser for Alaska’s Rep. Don Young that has now come into question as part of an alleged pay-to-play scandal involving a $10 million earmark for a Florida interchange.
According to the Michigan Bar Association member directory, Sarah Deson-Fried, Harold Fried’s wife, in 2003 she joined the Troy, MI law offices of Miller Canfield Paddock & Stone PLC as senior counselor in its real estate group; however, she’s no longer featured on the Miller Canfield Web site. Deson-Fried was a gubernatorial appointee to the Michigan Humanities Council Board of Directors and was elected its treasurer in 2005; however she resigned the post in 2007 with two years left on the term. She is also affiliated with HSL Investments, LLC.
The Michigan Humanities Council Web site lists the following as its largest donors for FY 2005:
A review of political contributions using OpenSecrets.org, suggests that when clients like Aronoff and Ilitch called upon Harold Fried to support political candidates they were trying to influence, Fried and his wife jumped on the bandwagon.
Between 1999 and 2005, the Frieds frequently made political contributions which mirrored contributions made by Daniel Aronoff and/or his wife Nancy. The beneficiaries of their political generosity included Reps. Don Young, Katherine Harris, Mario Diaz-Balart, and Thad McCotter among others.
Records available via CSPAN indicate Sarah Deson-Fried participated in a 3.11.03 fundraiser hosted by Detroit’s Ilitch family and attended by their friends, associates and a stable of their attorneys who raied money for Rep. Candice Miller. The fundraiser was held less than a month after Rep. Miller had introduced her first bill in Congress, H.R. 831, intended to pave the way for a Port Huron casino backed by Ilitch and friends. That bill was co-sponsored by Rep. Don Young.
Fried’s roster of high-profile clients who call when they’re in trouble includes:
A Naples News article published 4.16.06, “Money a motivator in I-75 earmark?” indicates Fried helped Aronoff with a Florida fundraiser for Alaska’s Rep. Don Young that has now come into question as part of an alleged pay-to-play scandal involving a $10 million earmark for a Florida interchange.
According to the Michigan Bar Association member directory, Sarah Deson-Fried, Harold Fried’s wife, in 2003 she joined the Troy, MI law offices of Miller Canfield Paddock & Stone PLC as senior counselor in its real estate group; however, she’s no longer featured on the Miller Canfield Web site. Deson-Fried was a gubernatorial appointee to the Michigan Humanities Council Board of Directors and was elected its treasurer in 2005; however she resigned the post in 2007 with two years left on the term. She is also affiliated with HSL Investments, LLC.
The Michigan Humanities Council Web site lists the following as its largest donors for FY 2005:
- Friends in FY 2005
- Sage ($1,000 and over)
Daniel & Nancy Aranoff, Bloomfield Hills
Sarah Deson-Fried, Birmingham
Fried Sapersten Abbat PC
Miller, Canfield, Paddock & Stone
Marilyn Williamson, West Bloomfield
A review of political contributions using OpenSecrets.org, suggests that when clients like Aronoff and Ilitch called upon Harold Fried to support political candidates they were trying to influence, Fried and his wife jumped on the bandwagon.
Between 1999 and 2005, the Frieds frequently made political contributions which mirrored contributions made by Daniel Aronoff and/or his wife Nancy. The beneficiaries of their political generosity included Reps. Don Young, Katherine Harris, Mario Diaz-Balart, and Thad McCotter among others.
Records available via CSPAN indicate Sarah Deson-Fried participated in a 3.11.03 fundraiser hosted by Detroit’s Ilitch family and attended by their friends, associates and a stable of their attorneys who raied money for Rep. Candice Miller. The fundraiser was held less than a month after Rep. Miller had introduced her first bill in Congress, H.R. 831, intended to pave the way for a Port Huron casino backed by Ilitch and friends. That bill was co-sponsored by Rep. Don Young.
Fried’s roster of high-profile clients who call when they’re in trouble includes:
- *Sergei Fedorov, at the time one Mike Ilitch’s star skaters on the Detroit Red Wings, was arrested in 2001 after failing a field sobriety test and charged with driving while impaired. (Click-On Detroit)
*Bob Probert, another Red Wings player who was arrested in 1989 for smuggling cocaine and subsequently served three months in federal prison. (St. Petersburg Times)
*Nellie Varner, a former University of Michigan Regent who along with Herb Strather founded Atwater Entertainment Associates (MotorCity Casino), faced allegations of possible involvement in the 1998 murder of her daughter's ex-boyfriend. (Michigan Daily)
*Ronald Ilitch, the eldest son of Mike and Marian Ilitch, who was arrested on domestic violence charges in 2004 involving a girlfriend, Lisa Wood. Ilitch ultimately plead guilty to the charges. (Detroit Free Press)
*Fried also represented Ron Ilitch in a 1997 divorce proceeding. (Oakland Co. Courts)
*Michael Ilitch, Jr., another of Mike & Marian Ilitch's sons, has reportedly struggled with addictions during his life. Fried attempted to get Ilitch’s previously suspended Michigan drivers license re-instated during court proceedings in 2000. (Oakland Co. Courts)
- In 1996, an Administrator representing Michigan’s Attorney Grievance Commission alleged that Fried and several colleagues participated in a scheme to counsel clients, who were dissatisfied with the judge assigned to their case, to retain an attorney related to that judge as co-counsel, solely for the purpose of removing the judge from their case. The Administrator alleged that Fried and the others received compensation based on their ability to get a client’s case transferred to another judge. (Grievance)
During a 2006 trial on wrongful discharge claims brought by a former Clerk of the 48th District Court (Bloomfield Township, MI), the Detroit Free Press reported that jurors heard testimony which alleged: “Harold Fried, an Oakland County defense attorney who has raised tens of thousands of dollars for myriad judicial candidates, routinely distributed tickets to prized sports events in an effort to curry favor with court employees.” (Detroit Free Press)
Tribe's financial backers slipped $25,000 to Governor
Detroit casino syndicators bankrolling casino development plans for the Shinnecock Indian Nation funneled $25,000 on 8.18.04 to George Pataki’s other political committee -- one set up out-of-state, in Virginia -- while he was still New York Governor: 21st Century Freedom State PAC.
In 2003, Marian Ilitch and Michael J. Malik, Sr. formed Gateway Casino Resorts LLC to bankroll and push plans for a Shinnecock Indian Nation casino resort in The Hamptons on Long Island.
At the time George Pataki was Governor of New York. If the tribe was going to receive federal recognition and develop a casino resort in the posh Hamptons resort area on Long Island, getting the Governor’s support would be an advantage.
To help with Pataki, Gateway and the Shinnecock had hired Mercury Public Affairs, a Manhattan-based public relations and lobbying firm with close ties to Pataki. One of the governor’s political consultants at the time was Kieran Mahoney, a principal at Mercury Public Affairs, plus former administration aides Mike McKeon and Tom Doherty were also affiliated with Mercury.
Pataki had set up a political committee in Virginia to raise money he could use for a possible campaign for President and to get around New York’s restrictions on campaign contributions. In a 1.15.05 disclosure, the 21st Century Freedom State PAC reported receiving a $25,000 contribution from M & M Ilitch Holdings Inc. located at 2211 Woodward Avenue, Detroit, MI 48201. That entity’s business was noted as “Financial Services.”
M & M Ilitch Holdings, Inc. was established 6.12.97 in Michigan by Mike Ilitch, owner of the Detroit Tigers baseball team, and his wife Marian Ilitch; however, a 6.26.01 Amendment to its Articles of Incorporation reported the entity’s name had been changed to Ilitch Holdings, Inc.
Neither Hoovers (D&B) nor Experian categorize Ilitch Holdings, Inc. as a "Financial Services" firm. It’s not clear why Pataki’s committee would report Ilitch Holdings' old name and categorize it as a financial services company. Were they simply trying to bury/hide the contribution?
Why use the old name for Ilitch Holdings, Inc. to contribute the $25,000? Why didn't Gateway Casino Resorts contribute the money?
Various expenditure records for the 21st Century Freedom State PAC indicate Mercury Public Affairs was paid frequently for consulting services. For example, Mercury received a total of $49,000 as reported in the PACs 6.15.04 disclosure.
You may also want to review these recent related posts or click on the labels below:
In 2003, Marian Ilitch and Michael J. Malik, Sr. formed Gateway Casino Resorts LLC to bankroll and push plans for a Shinnecock Indian Nation casino resort in The Hamptons on Long Island.
At the time George Pataki was Governor of New York. If the tribe was going to receive federal recognition and develop a casino resort in the posh Hamptons resort area on Long Island, getting the Governor’s support would be an advantage.
To help with Pataki, Gateway and the Shinnecock had hired Mercury Public Affairs, a Manhattan-based public relations and lobbying firm with close ties to Pataki. One of the governor’s political consultants at the time was Kieran Mahoney, a principal at Mercury Public Affairs, plus former administration aides Mike McKeon and Tom Doherty were also affiliated with Mercury.
Pataki had set up a political committee in Virginia to raise money he could use for a possible campaign for President and to get around New York’s restrictions on campaign contributions. In a 1.15.05 disclosure, the 21st Century Freedom State PAC reported receiving a $25,000 contribution from M & M Ilitch Holdings Inc. located at 2211 Woodward Avenue, Detroit, MI 48201. That entity’s business was noted as “Financial Services.”
M & M Ilitch Holdings, Inc. was established 6.12.97 in Michigan by Mike Ilitch, owner of the Detroit Tigers baseball team, and his wife Marian Ilitch; however, a 6.26.01 Amendment to its Articles of Incorporation reported the entity’s name had been changed to Ilitch Holdings, Inc.
Neither Hoovers (D&B) nor Experian categorize Ilitch Holdings, Inc. as a "Financial Services" firm. It’s not clear why Pataki’s committee would report Ilitch Holdings' old name and categorize it as a financial services company. Were they simply trying to bury/hide the contribution?
Why use the old name for Ilitch Holdings, Inc. to contribute the $25,000? Why didn't Gateway Casino Resorts contribute the money?
Various expenditure records for the 21st Century Freedom State PAC indicate Mercury Public Affairs was paid frequently for consulting services. For example, Mercury received a total of $49,000 as reported in the PACs 6.15.04 disclosure.
You may also want to review these recent related posts or click on the labels below:
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Revenues at Ilitch-owned MotorCity Casino fell 11.52%
December revenue drops at three Detroit casinos
BY MARY FRANCIS MASSON • FREE PRESS BUSINESS WRITER
Revenue and taxes generated at all three Detroit casinos dropped by 8.1% in December, compared with December 2007. But despite the fourth quarter declines, yearly revenues went up 1.84% in 2008.
The casino revenues hit $1.36 billion in the full year 2008.
For the month of December, Greektown’s revenue dropped 12.76%, MotorCity Casino dropped 11.52% and MGM Grand dropped by 2.47%.
Also in December, MGM took the biggest chunk of the market share with 44 %, followed by MotorCity with 33% and Greektown with 23%.
Gaming taxes also dropped in December, with $9.42 million generated compared with $12.4 million in the same period last year. Much of the reductions were because of state and city tax rollbacks granted to MGM and MotorCity.
BY MARY FRANCIS MASSON • FREE PRESS BUSINESS WRITER
Revenue and taxes generated at all three Detroit casinos dropped by 8.1% in December, compared with December 2007. But despite the fourth quarter declines, yearly revenues went up 1.84% in 2008.
The casino revenues hit $1.36 billion in the full year 2008.
For the month of December, Greektown’s revenue dropped 12.76%, MotorCity Casino dropped 11.52% and MGM Grand dropped by 2.47%.
Also in December, MGM took the biggest chunk of the market share with 44 %, followed by MotorCity with 33% and Greektown with 23%.
Gaming taxes also dropped in December, with $9.42 million generated compared with $12.4 million in the same period last year. Much of the reductions were because of state and city tax rollbacks granted to MGM and MotorCity.
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Strather identified those who formed nucleus of Atwater Associates in 1994
excerpted from an article published on 2.21.05 in Crain's Detroit:
Strather, not known for consistency, appears to leave out Lawrence P. Doss in his references to AEA's original members although Doss signed the original Articles of Organization for Atwater Entertainment Associates LLC (AEA) in January 1995 along with Strather and Varner. Doss has been noted as Manager/Treasurer of AEA and along with Strather and Verner he was a signatory to the Detroit Entertainment LLC Operating Agreement on behalf of AEA.
Strather had formed another entity, Atwater Entertainment Associates, Inc., in May 2004. He changed the name to AEA, Inc. in January 2005 and the Michigan DL&EG indicates that entity expired in July 2005.
Atwater Entertainment Associates LLC was dissolved by Vivian Carpenter, Strather's wife, in September 2006.
See List: Investors - Atwater Entertainment Associates LLC
That same article reported that Strather raised "about $3.3 million through Atwater to help win approval for three Detroit casinos in a 1996 statewide election campaign."
When MotorCity was being organized in the days before the city's Detroit casinos were authorized, [Herb]Strather said, 112 Detroit area people each bought one or more $25,000 units in the company that eventually founded the casino.
"Many put in $100,000, four units," he said, making their holdings worth about $1.7 million today.
Strather said this investment growth in MotorCity doesn't include the $38.5 million that he and three other initial investors - Nellie Varner, Ron Slavik and James Blain - received when they sold their shares to Ilitch and to Mandalay, operating partner for MotorCity.
These four, along with former New Detroit President Paul Hubbard, funeral director O'Neill Swanson, and Barbara Callaway, who was Strather's grade-school teacher, were the original investors in 1994 when the city of Detroit voted approval for three casinos, Strather said.
Strather, not known for consistency, appears to leave out Lawrence P. Doss in his references to AEA's original members although Doss signed the original Articles of Organization for Atwater Entertainment Associates LLC (AEA) in January 1995 along with Strather and Varner. Doss has been noted as Manager/Treasurer of AEA and along with Strather and Verner he was a signatory to the Detroit Entertainment LLC Operating Agreement on behalf of AEA.
Strather had formed another entity, Atwater Entertainment Associates, Inc., in May 2004. He changed the name to AEA, Inc. in January 2005 and the Michigan DL&EG indicates that entity expired in July 2005.
Atwater Entertainment Associates LLC was dissolved by Vivian Carpenter, Strather's wife, in September 2006.
See List: Investors - Atwater Entertainment Associates LLC
When reporter interviewed Herb Strather he failed to do the math
In February 2005, Robert Ankeny wrote in Crain's Detroit:
Was Ankeny enabling Strather to spread falsehoods and mistruths to some benefit?
Were Strather's inconsistencies meant to attract new investors or give some comfort to existing investors?
Were these representations designed to make others like Len Wolman, Sol Kerzner and brothers Richard & Stephan Slavik think there was more to AtMashpee LLC than there really was? Or were there some never-revealed "silent" partners behind Atwater Entertainment Associates that perhaps included Wolman, Kerzner and/or the Slavik brothers?
As noted in the first Ankeny reference above, the Slaviks' cousin, J. Ronald Slavik, was known as an "investor" in Atwater Associates.
See "Investors" List: Atwater Entertainment Associates LLC
Then, in March 2005, Robert Ankeny of Crain’s Detroit wrote:
When MotorCity was being organized in the days before the city's Detroit casinos were authorized, Strather said, 112 Detroit area people each bought one or more $25,000 units in the company that eventually founded the casino.
"Many put in $100,000, four units," he said, making their holdings worth about $1.7 million today.
Strather said this investment growth in MotorCity doesn't include the $38.5 million that he and three other initial investors - Nellie Varner, Ron Slavik and James Blain - received when they sold their shares to Ilitch and to Mandalay, operating partner for MotorCity.
These four, along with former New Detroit President Paul Hubbard, funeral director O'Neill Swanson, and Barbara Callaway, who was Strather's grade-school teacher, were the original investors in 1994 when the city of Detroit voted approval for three casinos, Strather said.
Strather, who in the early 1990s organized the group that became Atwater Entertainment Associates L.L.C., said he, Karmanos and about two dozen of the 108 partners who own fractional shares of MotorCity also have offered to buy out and restructure that 11.5 percent of MotorCity for $118 million. Strather withdrew from the casino licensing process in 1999 before MotorCity opened, he said, in part because overdue taxes on some of his past development projects might have hindered approval from the Michigan Gaming Control Board.
But just a few months later, in October 2005, Robert Ankeny wrote:
How is it that Ankeny could write in February & March that Strather's Atwater Entertainment Associates was a group of 108 - 112 partners and yet in October he reports 150 former Atwater partners represented 3/4s of the 200 investors in Strather’s AtMashpee casino syndication?
Detroit-based Atmashpee L.L.C. scored a victory in a decades-old battle to win federal recognition for the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe in Massachusetts, said Herb Strather, Detroit developer and organizer of the company…
Atmashpee (the name is a blend of Mashpee and Strather’s Atwater Associates, organizers of what became MotorCity Casino L.L.C.) includes $12 million invested by more than 200 people. About 150 of them are former Atwater partners, he said
Was Ankeny enabling Strather to spread falsehoods and mistruths to some benefit?
Were Strather's inconsistencies meant to attract new investors or give some comfort to existing investors?
Were these representations designed to make others like Len Wolman, Sol Kerzner and brothers Richard & Stephan Slavik think there was more to AtMashpee LLC than there really was? Or were there some never-revealed "silent" partners behind Atwater Entertainment Associates that perhaps included Wolman, Kerzner and/or the Slavik brothers?
As noted in the first Ankeny reference above, the Slaviks' cousin, J. Ronald Slavik, was known as an "investor" in Atwater Associates.
See "Investors" List: Atwater Entertainment Associates LLC
Was Ilitch pursuing Port Huron opportunities?
6.09.08
Olympia Entertainment bids to run Port Huron arena
Contributed by Bill Shea
Detroit-based Olympia Entertainment Inc. is among the potential bidders seeking to manage city-owned McMorran Place in Port Huron.
The venue includes a hockey rink, 1,200-seat theater and 1,000-seat secondary pavilion and is home to the minor-league Port Huron Icehawks of the International Hockey League. The team, owned by Howell-based Datapak Services Corp., also is seeking the management contract.
Bids are due June 13, and the City Council is expected in August to award the contract, McMorran General Manager Larry Krabach said.
The city wants a private management company to run the 50-year-old arena to help offset a $335,000 annual subsidy from taxpayers.
Other likely McMorran bidders include Philadelphia-based SMG Inc.; Mechanicsville, Va.-based Rink Management Services Corp.; Ames, Iowa-based VenuWorks Inc.; and RG Sports & Entertainment of Vancouver, British Columbia.
Note: Marian Ilitch, president of Olympia Entertainment, and her family including husband Mike Ilitch, support plans to build a Casino in Port Huron that have been championed by her partner Michael J. Malik, Sr. for more than a decade. This article and a column by Mike Connell published 1.11.09 in the Port Huron Times Herald suggest the Ilitch family's greater interest in developing business opportunities in Port Huron. However, despite representations in the article above, a review of Port Huron City Council Minutes confirms that Olympia Entertainment did not end up submitting a propsoal.
The grand plan for a Port Huron Casino complex: Will Gov. Granholm deliver Obama?
excerpted from a column by Mike Connell published on 1.11.09 in the Port Huron Times Herald:
...For a time, it appeared a casino might become the money-making engine.
In a deal put together a year ago by Gov. Jennifer Granholm, the Bay Mills Chippewa would build a casino-hotel on 22 acres at the foot of Court Street. Tribes don't pay property taxes, but Bay Mills agreed to fork over a share of casino revenues estimated at $30 million a year.
In exchange for the 22 acres, Acheson Ventures also would have taken a percentage of the casino's gross revenues.
The income stream would have built a permanent Maritime Center at Vantage Point. There also was talk of creating an Aquarium of the Great Lakes, a tourist draw similar to the National Aquarium on Baltimore's Inner Harbor.
Port Huron's congressional delegation pledged funds for a mile-long promenade on the river's edge from the Military Street Bridge to the Seaway Terminal, where the walkway would hook up with an extension of the Wadhams-to-Avoca hiking trail.
These ambitious plans attracted feelers from other developers, including a well-known company that considered building a high-rise hotel attached to an indoor water park.
Mike Malik, a Detroit developer with connections to the Ilitch family, won a contract to develop the casino for Bay Mills. Malik, a native of Algonac, collects Chris-Craft and other antique boats. He talked of opening a museum to house his collection.
Meanwhile, the local rumor mill buzzed over reports that Malik might convince Mike and Marian Ilitch to build a three-rink hockey complex near the YMCA as a home for the International Silver Sticks.
This particular rumor also included talk of replacing McMorran Place with a minor-league ballpark for an unspecified Tigers' farm team. It would have been the hub of a downtown entertainment district.
How much of this was pie-in-the-sky nonsense is hard to know, because it all became moot when Detroit's now-disgraced mayor, Kwame Kilpatrick, decided Port Huron could not have a casino.
He won the backing of the Detroit newspapers and political allies such as his mother, Rep. Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick, the chairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus, and Rep. John Conyers, the influential chairman of the House Judiciary Committee.
MGM Mirage and the Saginaw Chippewa also opposed letting Port Huron compete with two casinos across the river in Canada. They threw money at Congress with predictable results.
Kwame Inc. ultimately killed the governor's deal and left Acheson looking for a Plan B.
Fortunately, time is on his side. Unlike the typical developer, who must recover an investment without dawdling, Acheson has the luxury of waiting for better times.
His luck may be turning, too...
There are other reasons for optimism, too.
The governor, who was embarrassed by the Kilpatricks at last year's congressional hearing on the casino, has new influence in Washington because of her friendship with President-elect Obama. The casino may not be as dead as its opponents hope...
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